Icha Icha
by McGrady
Summary: HieixBotan.AU.lemon. RE EMERALD MIST. He was as masculine as fire demons got, but how could he get her attention when she thinks he's a flowery little fruitcake?
1. Chapter 1: Misconceptions

Greetings, kind reader! I am McGrady, and this is my presentation of my story, Icha Icha! The title derives from the manga Naruto, and the original Icha Icha refers to a pervy book that one of the most powerful ninjas in the manga reads. n.n

Added on 11 July 2008: This story was my first, and it took me almost two years to complete. I'd like to warn readers that my writing goes through several phases over these two years, and the styles in the first and last chapters are drastically different. With that said, I hope you enjoy my story!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Misconceptions**

-

-

"Hiei, you really have progressed faster than anyone else who has studied at Dalin Temple."

"Really, Touya?"

"Oh, indeed. After you first learned Shards of Winter, you've doubled your accuracy within four hours. It must have taken me at least four weeks to do that!"

"Hn."

For the past few years, Hiei has been studying ice and uncovering his Ice Demon half. At the Dalin Temple, which is renowned for its powerful yet feared Ice Masters and students, Hiei was taken in and taught the ways of winter. The Dalin Temple is located atop a towering remote mountain, its base surrounded by a large forest, its top shrouded by clouds. There, the many ice students study their art in the snow and cold of a year-round winter. While all the other students were also meant to study Buddhism, Hiei was an exception. He was sent here by order of Enma himself to maximize Hiei's potential and subsequently increase the strength of the Reikai Tentei. At the temple, Hiei studied under Touya himself.

"I hope Enma is impressed. As well as his little brat."

"Yes, I suspect they both are. Or will be."

Both Hiei and Touya were trekking from the temple to a portal to Ningenkai. Besides the Ice Masters that Dalin Temple produces, the Temple is also quite infamous for its large stairway that runs along the length of the mountain, which the two had just began descending. At the base of the stairway, waiting for them, was the portal.

Hiei smirked a little and glanced over his shoulder, toward the top of the stairway. There, the large stone gates of the Temple stood proudly. "When I first climbed these stairs, each step came up to my knee."

Touya nodded in silent agreement. After musing to himself, Touya asked, "Hiei, are you glad that you're taller now?"

"Oh, of course. Dalin-sensei was right – height gives much advantage to me during a conflict. Longer arm span is more convenient than I thought."

"Even after the process of unfreezing your epiphysial lines. You're still glad?"

Hiei frowned. "Well, that wasn't too fun."

"Hiei, I could smell your pain."

"But I've been through much worse," added Hiei, pointing to his Jagan.

Touya raised his eyebrows.

"Touya, this thing hurt like a mofo."

Touya snorted. They continued walking down the path precariously, careful not to slip on the icy stone steps. Hiei took a deep breath, could feel the oxygen in the air thicken. After a moment, Touya asked Hiei, "Where did you learn the term 'mofo'?"

Hiei adamantly glared at the steps in front of him. "From that baka ferry onna."

ooooo

That baka ferry onna was back in Ningenkai, with the rest of the Reikai Tentei relaxing at Genkai's home, playing poker. Unfortunately for Botan, she quickly lost her chips. She and Keiko decided to go up the wooden stairs to the room Botan was temporarily staying at.

"Botan, it's been so long since we've seen Hiei-san."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Are you excited?"

Both girls rushed into Botan's room and zealously jumped into the large bed. After they were done bouncing, Botan sat up cross-legged. "It'd be nice to see Hiei again, but I don't expect any gifts from him."

Keiko giggled. She sat up like Botan did a few feet in front of her. "I don't either, but he has been keeping in contact with Yusuke a lot."

Botan pensively put finger to her chin and was silent for a moment. Her eyes then narrowed mischievously and she uncharacteristically smirked, almost as Hiei does. She ran to the door, quickly shutting and locking it, and then rushed back to her spot on the bed. "Keiko-chan, have you ever wondered about Hiei's personal life?"

After staring at Botan a little, Keiko decided she should be apprehensive. She shook her head. "Why would I?"

Botan smiled again, the mischievousness leaving her face and the joyfulness returning. "Well, since I've become the Tentei's case manager, I know Hiei better than most. Would you agree that Hiei is not ugly?"

"Well that's an interesting way to put it, Botan-chan. You say 'attractive' usually."

"That's true, yes," sighed Botan, "but Hiei's a punk, so he's different. I have just now concocted a theory!"

"Oh? Please tell me!"

Once again, mischievousness invaded the joyfulness on Botan's features. "Okay, back to the question, do you think he isn't ugly?"

"Meh." Keiko shrugged. "I guess."

After placing a reassuring hand on Keiko's shoulder, Botan exclaimed, "Well, Keiko my friend, you're not alone! With all my years with the Reikai Tentei, I learned that many girls think the same. In fact, some have approached Hiei…"

Keiko jumped, clamping her hand over her own mouth.

"That's right, Keiko-chan! Women try to seduce Hiei!"

"Oh my gosh! _Hiei_?"

"Yes! Mostly very pretty girls, too! But you know what?"

"What? What!"

Botan leaned forward, her face almost obnoxiously staring right into Keiko's. Botan hissed, "Hiei rejected _every single one of them_!"

"Why would he do that?"

Botan leaned back to her original position and rubbed her hands together like a young troublemaker. She was enjoying this moment! "_You know_, Keiko…"

Now, Keiko was the one who leaned into Botan's face almost obnoxiously. Keiko was incredulous. "There's no way! Hiei? _Definitely not Hiei_!"

"What kind of man turns down pretty women?" Botan continued rubbing her hands together. "Yes, Keiko-chan! After much thought, I have deduced that Hiei is…"

ooooo

"You know, Touya, I've been short almost all my life. I always wondered what life would be like if I were taller, but I never wished it to happen. I never thought I'd have his opportunity."

"It's not easy to expand a body. If you weren't meant to be taller, the process would have been undoable."

Hiei and Touya just passed between two ornate stone pillars that marked the halfway point of the enormous stairway. Hiei observed the winged angels made of ice at the top of each pillar, admiring the handiwork put into each detail. "How did Dalin-sama know that I was meant to be taller?"

"Well, Hiei, he can tell if anyone has growth left in him if his long bones have epiphysial lines, which indicate potential for growth. In our case, we found them on your femurs, tibias, ulnas…all your long bones, actually."

"How much taller do you think I am now?"

"Mmm…twenty centimeters."

"Yusuke and Kurama are probably still taller than me. The baka is definitely still taller than me."

"Kuwabara?"

"Hn. The one and only."

The steps now were visibly less icy than they were at the top of the stairway. Hiei could feel the air warming up the slightest bit. Taking another deep breath, he could once again note thicker oxygen. "When you get back, can you thank Dalin-sama one more time for me? He worked hard to raise my height."

"Of course."

Hiei stopped abruptly. Touya was a few steps ahead of him before he realized Hiei stopped. As Touya turned around, Hiei observed his hands and arms. "Touya-sensei–"

"–You no longer need to call me that anymore. You may call me Touya."

A ghost of a smile drifted over Hiei's mouth. He continued walking down the steps now, Touya turning back to join him.

"Touya. How did Dalin-sensei find all the minerals to put into my elongated bones?"

Touya shrugged, almost whispering, "Someone like me could never comprehend the level that Dalin-sensei is at, let alone his techniques."

The two continued their trek down the stairs. When they entered the forest, Hiei immediately felt the new warmth from the air leave him. In the forest, little sunlight penetrated the giant trees. Now the stones were no longer icy; they were moist. Hiei cast a glance toward Touya, asking, "Touya, you have a girlfriend, don't you?"

Touya blinked. He didn't expect that Hiei even knew what a girlfriend was. "Yes, Hiei-san. I do."

Looking back at what lay in front of him, Hiei continued to press questions onto his former sensei. "How do you get a girlfriend?"

Hiei heard an amused chuckle. "You have someone in mind, Hiei?"

"Well…" Hiei could feel his face blushing slightly. "...yes, recently, I have had someone in mind."

"Oh?"

"Actually, not recently," corrected Hiei. "For almost a year now."

Touya's eyebrows rose. "Ah, I see. Would you mind telling me who it is?"

Hiei frowned. He was beginning to regret ever bringing up this topic. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Hiei signed dejectedly. "Well, I hope you realize that I don't _like_ her. I've simply been _thinking_ about her."

"I see. Just thinking about her."

"Hn."

Touya looked up at a bird's nest overhead. He knew that when Hiei was in a corner, he'd stall until he found a solution. So, Touya gave him a push. "And…"

"You still want to know who it is, right?"

The silence sent a strong affirmative to Hiei. There was going to be no stalling this time.

"Alright, alright!"

The two kept on walking down the steps. Now, they saw small rodents scurrying up and down the trees.

"It's that baka ferry onna!" Hiei punted a pebble out of his path. "The baka…baka baka baka Botan!"

Touya continued to remain silent, but this time he was just toying with his former pupil. He knew that in five more seconds, Hiei would really start getting pissed off … three … two … one …

"I hate it when you do that, Touya."

"Yes, yes. Botan, eh?"

"That's the one."

"The one and only?"

"Hn. The one and only."

ooooo

"…I have deduced that Hiei is GAY!"

Both girls were silent. For this instance, time had completely stopped – the matrix broke! After the matrix resumed normal function, both girls shrieked and fanned their faces with their hands.

"Botan-chan, that makes _so much sense_!"

Botan furiously nodded her head, her hair shaking up and down as if it were being juggled. She squealed, "_Doesn't it_?"

"You know, I wouldn't even be surprised if he came out!"

ooooo

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hiei and Touya sorted out Hiei's situation. They have come to the conclusion that since Hiei could count every word he's said to Botan with his fingers, his chances with Botan are zero. Hiei's mood was less than stellar when they found the portal. Before following Touya through the portal to Ningenkai, Hiei groaned. "She probably even thinks I like men…"

ooooo

-

-

-

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Discussions

Hello! Thank you, reviewers, I was really apprehensive about my story. I didn't know if my story was a good idea or not! Well, I've decided that enough people like my story for me to continue, and I (thankfully) can keep my outline!

Also, I should say that I am no longer looking for a beta, as my sister volunteered to help me out. Special thanks to ElfRanger!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Discussions**

**-**

**-**

Now in Ningenkai, Touya admired the grassy hills and the clear day that he just stepped in to. He looked over his shoulder, wondering why Hiei hadn't arrived through the Ningenkai end of the portal. After a moment, Hiei did indeed appear. Touya waited patiently for Hiei to catch up to him before they started up a large hill off to Genkai's temple, yet was struck by this recent peculiarity that was Hiei being late. They set a brisk walking tempo toward Genkai's temple.

"Hiei," began Touya.

"Hn?"

Touya opened his mouth, a sound just about to escape from his tongue, but Touya fought it and yanked it back in. He had almost questioned Hiei about why he had been a little late through the portal. After discussing Hiei's chances with the ferry girl, Touya noticed a slight mood change in his friend.

"It's…" Touya shook his head. "…nothing."

Hiei continued walking, looking straight ahead, but glanced at Touya through the corner of his eye. "Touya, when you speak, you tend to speak with purpose."

Touya quickly translated that into, "Tell me what you were going to say, fool!" He sighed and looked down at the grassy ground they were tredding on. This time, however, Hiei mimicked Touya's manipulation of silence, disingenuously convincing him to talk. Touya tossed his hesitation over his shoulder with resolution. "Hiei, it's uncommon to see you not perfectly punctual."

Hiei knew that Touya was addressing the moment Hiei thought to himself before following Touya through the portal. "I was thinking."

"Hiei, you prefer to perfrom multiple tasks simultaneously. Such as thinking and walking."

Hiei's eyebrows raised the slightest bit. He almost admired Touya's astuteness.

"You were thinking about her, weren't you, Hiei?"

He nodded. "I was, yes."

ooooo

In Botan's room, the two girls were frantically listing all the reasons Hiei just _had_ to be gay in a notebook. Both were still excited about their newfound uncovery.

"He eats only healthy foods!"

"He sleeps in trees!"

"He wears a bandana!"

They had a half-page long list before they ran out of both ideas and energy. Now, everything was more serious.

"Botan, now that we've calmed down, I'm not so sure anymore…"

"Come on, now, Keiko-chan, we can't give up now!"

Keiko threw herself backwards into Botan's pillows. Looking into the ceiling, Keiko said, "Some gay people do what we listed. Hiei obviously does what we listed. But does that really mean he's gay? Not all gay people do this stuff."

Botan shrugged. "Does Yusuke eat healthy food?"

"Definitely not!"

"Is he gay?"

Suddenly, Keiko's body snapped into an upright sitting position. "_Definitely_ not!"

Nodding, Botan began doodling a stick figure on the next page of the notebook. The figure started to resemble a big-headed Hiei. Botan straightened herself on the bed. "Does Yusuke care about trees?"

Keiko grimaced. "He's not exactly the caring type…"

Botan drew two fat vertical bars as eyes and a sloppy, incongruous curve as a smile. "But Hiei seems to be quite the tree hugger!"

"Botan-chan! Tree huggers and gay people are different!"

"But who would you say would more likely be a tree hugger," pressed Botan, as she drew some healthy trees around Stick Hiei, "A gay person or a straight person?"

Keiko threw herself back into the pillows.

Botan continued her argument. "And bandanas…"

"That I can't argue with. Yusuke is too straight for one of those."

Nodding, Botan proceeded to draw a bandana onto Stick Hiei, planting a flamboyant flower right in the middle of the forehead.

ooooo

Genkai's temple was peering over the hill now. Neither spoke as they reached the top of the hill, admiring the beauty of the temple. Hiei made a brief connection between Genkai's residence and Dalin's, thinking that Genkai's temple resembled what might be Dalin Temple's little brother. The two quickly found themselves at the base of the steps, noting how each step was dwarfed by the steps they had just descended.

Touya took the first step. "So, Hiei. Why do you like her?"

Hiei let a small admonishing growl slip as he followed.

"I'm sorry. What makes you _think_ about her?"

Nodding approvingly at the correction, Hiei took another moment to regret bringing this up to Touya. "Well…" Why did he do it? "…hm."

Touya slowed his pace up the steps while Hiei soon followed suit. "Take your time, we're in no rush."

Hiei knew that he simply wanted to know more about his thoughts of the ferry girl. He roughly ran a hand through his ebony hair. "She's pretty," admitted Hiei, "I'll give her that."

Touya decided to employ an old ruse that he used to cajole his big brother to give him more information about his girlfriends. To execute the ruse effectively, Touya would doubt the appearance of the girl in question. He began by snorting obnoxiously at Hiei's comments about Botan being pretty.

Hiei glared at Touya. "Well, she is!"

As he stared ahead at the top of the stairs, Touya's face twisted with incredulity.

Hiei huffed almost femininely, stuffing his hands in his pockets in exasperation.

Touya turned to Hiei, raising his hands defensively as he now ascended the stairs sideways, announcing, "Hiei, I'm not even sure if I'm thinking of the same girl as you are! I might not have even met her!"

Raising his eyebrows with new understanding, Hiei silently forgave Touya. "She _is_ pretty," asserted Hiei, but then shrugged. "At least I think so."

"Ah. Would you mind describing her for me? Why you might think so?"

Hiei dropped his gaze, blushing slightly. Touya smirked.

"She's got nice eyes," Hiei began sheepishly, "and nice hair."

"I see." Touya noted how quickly Hiei blushed. "Is she a fighter?"

Hiei chuckled a little, bemused. "Hardly. Her favorite weapon is a stick made of tin. And she's out of shape. Probably not athletic in the slightest bit."

Touya leapt at the opportunity to employ his ruse again. "So you're into fat women?"

ooooo

Keiko was now admiring Botan's portrait of Stick Hiei. After drawing the flower, Botan embellished it with cuddly forest animals and topped it off with a big, friendly rainbow. Keiko giggled at Stick Hiei's oversized head, which looked like it was falling off the body.

"You know, Keiko, I just came up with more evidence."

Keiko looked up from the drawing. Botan stood from the bed and began pacing around the room like a scientist intent on debunking one of Newton's laws. "Hiei wears sleeveless shirts."

Keiko watched her move from wall to wall. "Okay."

"_And_," stressed Botan, pointing a finger toward the ceiling, "we know that there is a prerequisite to be able to wear sleeveless shirts."

Both girls knew "the sleeveless shirt rule for men" and mechanically recited, "One mustn't wear sleeveless shirts unless he has big arms."

Keiko's eyes lit up. "Ah! That's a big one! Hiei's arms are wimpy! Do you remember the exception to the rule?"

Botan snapped around, facing Keiko and smiling brightly. The girls together enthusiastically announced, "One mustn't wear sleeveless shirts unless he has big arms. The only exception is if he is GAY!"

ooooo

Hiei shot a piercing glare at his companion. "She's not fat!"

Touya mentally commended himself for deciding to employ the ruse at this moment. "But if she's really out of shape, she must be fat."

"No, she's _not_ fat," insisted Hiei, "She's pretty and has a slender body!"

"Ah," murmured Touya, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Hiei took this time to remember Botan's thin frame and friendly face, hoping she didn't change for the worst while he was gone. Touya grinned mischievously and decided to step over the line a little. "Is she taller than you?"

Touya took a few more steps before realizing that Hiei was no longer with him. He stopped and gazed at the temple before them. They were about half way up.

"Hiei?" called Touya absently, expecting a "hn" in reply.

No answer. Suddenly, Touya was on guard and took a defensive stance, looking upward – he knew that Hiei loved to attack from above. However, he only heard a pathetic groan from beneath him. There, Hiei had fallen flat against the stairs, his legs tangled, his face firmly planted into the steps. "Hiei, what happened?"

Hiei clumsily stood and brushed his pants with his hands. "I tripped."

The opportunities for Touya to smirk were simply jumping at him today! "How did the ever-so-graceful Hiei Jaganshi end up on the _ground_?"

Hiei began to continue climbing, obdurately refusing to make contact with Touya's mocking eyes. "She _was_ taller than me." Hiei took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "_Was_!"

As Touya followed Hiei, he felt like humming and skipping. "It would have been so interesting watching the shorter you ask the taller ferry girl for a kiss."

ooooo

While Yusuke and Kuwabara argued over whether or not Yusuke cheated on the final hand of poker, Kurama gathered the poker chips, trying to ignore their childish bickering. He just started collecting the cards when Yusuke's communicater started beeping. Yusuke seemed to not notice it, continuing his argument with Kuwabara, when Kurama decided to intervene. "Yusuke, I think someone wants to talk to you."

Yusuke, just about to sock Kuwabara in the face, looked up at Kurama. This time, he heard the beep and let go of his friend. Kuwabara fell to the ground. Sitting up on the floor and smoothing out wrinkles in his shirt, Kuwabara said indignantly, "I swear, Urameshi, you had an Ace up your sleeve!"

"Shut up, Kuwabara!"

Kurama sighed. They were incorrigible! He decided to help out Yukina with dinner. Yusuke began answering his communicator as he took a seat on Genkai's living room couch. "Urameshi."

Fumbling with thick folders placed on his desk in front of him, a busy Koenma threw them down when he noticed his detective finally answered. "Yusuke," greeted Koenma tersely, obviously overwhelmed, "I have the details for your mission!"

Kuwabara joined Yusuke on the couch and tentatively asked Koenma, "This is the one you don't want me to go on, right?"

The toddler glared at Kuwabara through the communicator, pointing at him with an accusing finger. "The last time I sent you on a diplomatic mission, you incited a civil war!"

Kuwabara chuckled timidly and stuck an arm behind his head. "Heh, I guess that was completely my fault, eh?"

Yusuke turned to him, snickering, muttering to Kuwabara, "He's probably still doing paperwork for that!"

"We will NOT," declared Koenma, slamming his hands authoritatively on his desk, "discuss that incident or any of its ramifications!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara snapped their attention back to Koenma, feeling apprehensive about the toddler's belligerent tone. Koenma glared at Kuwabara again and bellowed, "Go away! I'm mad at you!"

Noticing Yukina in the kitchen, Kuwabara complied without hesitation. Yusuke watched him run off to help prepare for dinner a bit before redirecting himself toward Koenma. "So, as you were saying, the details."

"Yes, the details," responded Koenma, straightening his back and recomposing himself. "Only you, Kurama, and Hiei will go. Hiei returns today."

Yusuke nodded. "I sense him and another person already."

"The other is an escort who I believe is Touya."

Yusuke snickered. "Isn't Hiei a bit too old for a babysitter?"

Koenma leaned forward, his stare intensifying. "Hiei is in _no condition_ to safely walk around Makai in solitude."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

Now, Koenma disappeared for a bit, to reach a lower desk draw, Yusuke presumed, and reappeared with a new file. "According to my records, Hiei is healthy–"

"–So what's the big deal–"

"–YUSUKE! You interrupted me again!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath inaudibly. Koenma sighed helplessly. "As I was saying, Hiei is healthy, but due to the Dalin Temple graduation exam, he lost almost 97 percent of his spirit energy within the last eight hours."

"What!" Yusuke, suddenly paying attention again, was appalled. "I've never lost more than 85!"

Koenma flipped through the new file to a different page. "Actually, you're life-time spirit energy low is minus 82 percent."

Yusuke crossed his arms. He felt like standing up and leaving. "Get to the point, Koenma!"

"My point," declared Koenma stately, "is that Hiei cannot fight for at least a week. _At least_. His spirit is very fragile and Hiei's fighting style consumes energy quickly."

"Really? Hiei's among the most efficient fighters I know!"

"He _was_ efficient. Now, Hiei supports a larger body frame, controls a more powerful Jagan eye, and weilds four swords and two conflicting elements. If you mix that in with his trademark speed and Darkness Flame, you get an alarmingly inefficient repertoire of techniques. Hiei still needs months to regain his efficiency."

Yusuke stared dumbly.

"Yusuke, did you catch that?"

"Did you say Hiei is taller now?"

"No, but I implied that. In fact, he's gained nineteen centimeters in height."

Yusuke laughed out loud. "I'm still four times the punk's size!"

ooooo

"Now, Hiei, you know I was kidding, right?"

Hiei never felt so embarrassed in his life. He lost a good deal of his pride when he uncharacteristically tripped and when Touya realized that Hiei had yet to kiss a girl. Additionally, Hiei could imagine how Yusuke and Kuwabara would make a ceremonious mockery of his additional height, which still left him noticably shorter than both. But to top it all off, today Hiei learned that he had no chance with the only woman he's ever had intimate thoughts about. Hiei would remember this day as the most uncomfortable day of his life.

For once, Touya regreted using his pry-out-information-about-the-girl ruse. He had only seen Hiei walk with his head held high, so he was unaccustomed to seeing him dragging his feet up the final steps, his shoulders slumped forward, his hands in his hair with distress. Touya felt it was the entire difficulty was his fault. "Hiei, I'm serious, I'm sorry. What I said was unwarranted."

Hiei was beginning to feel the effects of having only 3 percent of his spirit energy. He felt a wave of torpor hit his body and he suddenly felt like taking a long, deep nap. "I guess after all you've taught me," said Hiei, stifling a yawn, "the least I can do is forgive you."

Touya, having seen his own share of his students pass the Dalin Temple graduation exam, knew that Hiei needed rest. "I suggest you eat a very large meal before you sleep. If you don't eat, you'll wake up the next day regretting it."

Now at the top of the stairs, the two faced each other. Once master and pupil, they shook hands as equal friends. "I don't say this about too many people," said Hiei, "but I will miss you."

Touya smiled. "I know. I will miss my best student as well."

They turned their backs on each other and walked in different directions, their paths diverging, both too proud to say "good bye." As Hiei walked along the trail to the temple's entrance, he heard Touya leap into the air and fade into the colors of the wind.

ooooo

Stick Hiei now resided in a pink picture frame, complete with Botan's autograph. Botan had just left her room with Keiko to join Yukina in the kitchen to help prepare for dinner. They could already smell the rich sent of Yukina's special Chinese pork.

"You know, Keiko-chan," said Botan as she closed her door, "I kind of regret coming to the conclusion that Hiei is gay."

Tying her hair into a ponytail, Keiko glanced at Botan. "Why so?"

Botan smiled playfully as she beckoned Keiko to follow her down the stairs. "Now, I'm not the fangirl type, but I must give Hiei credit where it's due. Even if he _is_ gay."

Botan now had Keiko's full attention. The brunette wasn't sure if she wanted her friend to elaborate.

"Keiko," sighed the ferry girl wistfully, "I'm quite fond of Hiei's ass."

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

This concludes the chapter! I think I should establish some facts, though: 

1.) Dalin Temple is a parody of the renowned Shaolin Temple. "Shaolin" means "little forest" while "dalin" means "big forest."

2.) Largely, I fabricated "the sleeveless shirt rule for men." But it holds to a certain extent! I know it!

3.) I feel that the "pry-out-information-about-the-girl ruse" works sometimes, but I wouldn't recommend trying it!

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Palpations

Thank you reviewers and hello readers! I'm glad you all thought my previous chapters were humorous, I really wasn't intending on putting in any humor when I constructed my outline.

Also, the numbers that I had in the previous chapter were supposed to be percentages, but the this site doesn't like percent signs. (Anyway, I fixed that! The last chapter probably makes more sense now.)

Before I begin, I just want to say that this was definitely more difficult to write than I thought. I had to make sure I liked my outline before I wrote this chapter, because once this one was out, I couldn't change very much anymore!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Palpations**

**-**

**-**

Hiei stood in front of the front door, pounding on the heavy oak. At the moment, Hiei was debating whether his body needed more food or sleep: his stomach was tossing and growling, but his head was becoming heavier by the hour and was demanding rest. Kurama opened the door before Hiei could decide between the two.

"Hello, Hiei." Smiling congenially, Kurama motioned for Hiei to step inside. "Long time."

"Hn," responded Hiei, almost grinning, stepping through the door, "Kurama."

Kurama gently closed the door and turned to lean against it, informing Hiei, "We've prepared a feast for your arrival. Yukina made her special Chinese pork."

Hiei, slipping off his shoes, looked up at the mention of Yukina's pork. "We should join her."

Kurama began leading Hiei to the living room, where everyone else was waiting for him. "Hiei, I prepared a draught that helps to restore lost spirit energy." They turned a corner and found themselves in a lengthy hallway. "I suggest you take some before you sleep tonight."

Walking down the hall, they past several water colors. Hiei observed one they passed, a foggy portrait of a nude blue-haired enchantress. Oblivious to Hiei, Kurama was trying to talk to him. Kurama sighed. "Hiei, I know you're tired, but can you _please_ try to pay attention?"

Suddenly, Hiei felt the inside of his chest swell, as though Kurama caught him in the act of admiring the Botan-like picture. He felt his heart rate racing and his cheeks burning. Kurama shook his head. "Okay, Hiei, I'll repeat what I said again. This is important, so please listen!"

The fire demon nodded both compliantly and apologetically.

"Hiei, you need to take this draught today because we have an important mission tomorrow."

Hiei blinked. "We have a mission?" Hiei remembered that he only had three percent of his spirit energy. "I just passed the Dalin Temple graduation exams today!"

"Yes, Hiei, we know. That's why you must take the draught. You need to regain as much spirit energy as you can before then."

"How much will I have by tomorrow with the draught?"

"I believe by tomorrow you'll have seven percent."

"Wonderful. Kitsune, you said this mission was important?"

"Yes. But we won't need to fight unless events change for the worst."

"I see. A diplomatic mission?"

"Yes. Kazuma won't be joining us."

Hiei smirked. The civil war Kuwabara incited while on his first (and last) diplomatic mission had recently come to a conclusion. He was thinking of new ways to beat Kuwabara with his new ice techniques (in case the need arose) when they entered the living room. Hiei snapped out of his inner thoughts and flinched, waiting for Yusuke and Kuwabara to begin making fun of his shortness. However, the only one in the room was the teenaged Koenma sitting in the middle of the couch facing Hiei.

Hiei sighed in relief. "Koenma, where is the detective?"

Koenma sighed and crossed his arms, annoyed. "I apologize for their immaturity, but –"

All of a sudden, Yusuke and Kuwabara jumped from behind the couch Koenma sat at. They hurdled the distance from the couch to Hiei in one bound. Yusuke planted himself in front of Hiei and bent forward at the waist to lower himself to Hiei's level, as an elementary teacher would to a student, emphasizing Yusuke's still-larger body. He was grinning like crazy. "So, Hiei. There's something different about you! Some kind of change!" He turned to Kuwabara. "Do you know what I mean? Do you see it?"

Hiei tried not to punch the detective in the face, even though he expected this belittling. Gritting his teeth, Hiei tried distracting himself by watching Koenma stand up and head toward the kitchen while counting to ten.

Unlike Yusuke, Kuwabara was frowning with thought. "Well, I don't know." He circled around Hiei, a hawk circling its prey. "It's not the clothes–" Hiei was wearing his traditional black clothing. "–it's not the hair–" Hiei's hair was as spiky as ever. "–it might be the swords–" Instead of only carrying one sword, Hiei now had four, strapped to his lower back, in the pattern of an "X." Kuwabara zeroed in on Hiei, stepping in front of Yusuke and stooping down to look Hiei right in the face. "You've changed, shorty, but how?"

Then, Kuwabara stopped scrutinizing the fire demon. His face lit up like a neon sign that read, "I got the answer!" Moving to Hiei's side and turning to face Yusuke, Kuwabara propped an elbow on Hiei's head and grinned conclusively. "I think shorty got a tan!"

Hiei's eye twitched. He telepathically told Kurama to lend him a hand and get Kuwabara's armpit out of his ear so he wouldn't burn it off. Kurama replied that he had to help Yukina set the table. As Yusuke tried taking a picture of Kuwabara leaning on Hiei like a walking stick, Hiei decided he had enough.

"Shorty, was it the tan?" Kuwabara glanced downward at the fire demon and could tell he was embittering. He then looked up at Yusuke. "Urameshi, you get the picture?"

Yusuke didn't look as jubilant as he had just moments ago. "Damned camera," he muttered as he turned the camera to various angles, trying to figure out what went wrong.

"Ah, Urameshi! Don't you know anything about cameras?" Kuwabara pointed to the camera with his other arm, the first still on Hiei's head. "You forgot to open the lens!"

Before Yusuke could retort, Hiei shoved Kuwabara's arm off his head. Kuwabara looked down at Hiei and grinned. He flexed his arm and kissed his bicep. "Was my muscular arm too heavy for you, shorty?"

Hiei glowered at Kuwabara. "I lose my appetite when I inhale rancid body odor." The fire demon turned and exited the living room, heading down the hallway to find Kurama.

Kuwabara was no longer a happy camper, declaring, "I'm wearing the deodorant of love!" He stepped into the hallway and pointed accusingly at Hiei. "I would never smell for my Princess Yukina!"

Hiei abruptly halted. Did he just call Yukina his "princess"? With his back still turned, Hiei growled. "We will take this outside."

Kuwabara didn't miss a beat. "You're on, shorty!"

ooooo

When Koenma entered the kitchen, he saw Yukina, Botan, Keiko, Genkai, and Kurama busy with various tasks. Koenma approached Kurama and helped him slice fruit for a dessert. "After all these years, Yusuke and Kuwabara have yet to grow up."

Kurama sliced an apple into thin slices. "Well, I suppose we just have to accept who they are."

Koenma sighed. He knew the fox demon was right – how could he expect either of the two to mature? Picking up a knife and a green apple, Koenma began assisting Kurama. "I'm afraid those two might piss off Hiei. They were going to make fun of him and his extra height."

Grinning knowingly, Kurama picked up another apple and started cutting it down the middle. "I noticed the height, but I daresay, the rest of the Tantei still dwarf him."

"You didn't mention the height to Hiei?"

"Oh, of course not. If I had, I would have let something sarcastic slip."

Nodding at Kurama's tact, Koenma reached for the last apple. "Yusuke wanted to take a picture of Kuwabara leaning on Hiei with his elbow on Hiei's head," said Koenma, laying the knife and the apple slices on the cutting board and walking over to a broom that stood in a kitchen corner. He proceeded to pick it up, face Kurama, place it under his arm, and rest his elbow at the broom's tip. "Like this, Kurama."

"I doubt Hiei would appreciate that."

"I didn't think he would either, but neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara gave it a second thought."

Kurama sighed. He began gathering the apple peels into a pile, about to pitch them in the trashcan, when he saw Hiei and Kuwabara out of the window. Kuwabara took a combative stance and motioned for Hiei to attack him. Hiei unbuckled his four swords and flung them toward Yusuke before taking his own stance.

Kurama turned to Koenma and beckoned him to the window. "Koenma, I think they're about to kill one another."

"What!" Koenma rushed to the window and glared at the fight unfolding before his eyes. He opened the window and stuck his head through it, shouting, "You idiots! We have a mission tomorrow!"

Outside, Hiei felt his shoulders relax as the teenage form of Koenma yelled something about him having a fragile spirit. He ignored him and started walking toward Yusuke, retrieving his swords. "We will fight after the mission."

Kuwabara straightened from his stance and looked up toward Koenma. "Is it time to eat yet?"

"We've been ready to eat since Hiei got here!"

Kuwabara's mood visibly lightened. He pointed at the fire demon, declaring, "I will fight you after dinner!"

Hiei was busy strapping his swords back to his back. "We will fight after the mission."

Yusuke rolled his eyes, muttering something about how Kuwabara always makes others repeat themselves. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked with Hiei back into the temple. Kuwabara soon realized he was the last one left and quickly followed.

ooooo

Hiei took a seat between Yusuke and Kurama at the oblong rectangular table and quickly targeted Yukina's special Chinese pork lying right in front of his plate. He closed his eyes, rested his head in his hands, and took a deep breath, taking in the sweet, warm aroma of the dishes on the table when Botan took a seat next to Keiko, across from Hiei. Still enjoying the fragrances that lingered in the air, Hiei didn't notice the ferry girl sit in front of him stare at him.

Meanwhile, as Botan was taking her seat, she noticed Hiei, singing to herself, "He's gay! He's gay! He's gay, gay, gay, gay, GAY!" She turned to whisper something to Keiko but only found that her friend was preoccupied with slapping Yusuke's hand and reprimanding him for eating before the host did. Botan sighed at turned her gaze back at the fire demon that sat in front of her. Hiei was hunched over, elbows propped on the table, hands in his hair. His eyes were closed, but Botan could tell, Hiei was calm and at peace with himself. Botan almost thought it looked like Hiei found his long-lost puppy.

Genkai took her seat at the head of the table, brusquely ordering, "Everyone – eat."

At the sudden command, Hiei's eyes shot open to find Botan staring at him. Deep red collided with bright purple until Botan broke the eye contact, flustered, desperately searching for something else interesting to gaze at. Hiei felt as though his heart had doubled in size and was beating his blood through his body with a hammer; he could even feel the deep pounding reach his head and feet.

Botan, on the other hand, wanted to leave for a moment to recollect herself. She couldn't believe that she was caught staring at a gay man by, who else, but the gay man himself! Her face was warm, hangs wringing underneath the table. As Keiko handed her Yukina's special Chinese pork, Botan resolved that she would not look at Hiei for the rest of the dinner.

Hiei pretended that he didn't notice Botan and was piling food onto his plate, yet kept his Jagan on the girl in front of him. He didn't miss Botan blushing, pretending that she wasn't looking at him. Hiei wanted to smirk and smile at the same time, but he was now too busy shoveling the food into his mouth.

For several minutes no one said a word. Hiei only heard the food in his mouth being chewed, clanging tableware, and the thud of heavy dishes on the thick oak table. Everyone seemed to find their dishes in front of them very interesting and didn't move their gaze from them for more than a moment. He caught Botan stealing a glance at the clock behind Genkai.

Even though he also appeared to be occupied with his food, Hiei could sense the heavy, suffocating silence swarming the dinner table like a plague. Yusuke constantly shifted around in his chair. Koenma glanced at the clock behind Genkai. Kuwabara drummed on the table with his fingers.

Deciding that the silence had to stop, Botan decided to speak. She straightened her back, swallowed the last bits of food in her mouth, and quickly downed some water. "So, Hiei, can you tell us what you've been up to recently?"

Hiei didn't need his Jagan to sense everyone's eyes piercing through him. Damn that ferry onna! He stuffed some rice into his mouth, trying to buy a moment. Koenma put down his chopsticks and looked at Hiei, folding his hands in front of his body. "Yes, Hiei, do tell. I know little of the Dalin Temple."

Hiei played with his sushi with his chopsticks. "Dalin-sensei forbids any discussion of our study outside of the Temple."

Koenma looked down and frowned a little. "That might explain why we know little." He picked up his chopsticks again and continued eating. Yusuke glanced at the clock behind Genkai. Kurama took a tentative sip from his glass, taking a particularly long time to wipe his mouth with his napkin afterward. Keiko poked at her rice. Yukina noticed this. "Keiko-chan, do you not enjoy the food?"

Kuwabara glared at Keiko while she jumped. "No, no, Yukina-chan, the food is delicious! I was thinking!" She plucked pieces of cold broccoli from her plate and plopped them in her mouth. "Sorry, Yukina."

Kuwabara, on the other hand, had refilled his plate several times. Giving Yukina a solid thumbs-up sign, Kuwabara vouched, "Yukina, my princess, we are blessed to dine on the tastiest food in the world!"

Hiei visibly stiffened. Yusuke smacked his hand into his forehead. "You should have used a word like 'savory,' baka. Saying 'tasty' makes you sound like an idiot."

Botan felt a fight about to brew and decided that someone needed to intervene. "Yukina, I agree with Kuwabara, I hadn't had a meal this good in years!"

Yukina smiled, a silent "thank you." Hiei suddenly felt guilty and wanted to praise Yukina's culinary skills while everyone else was. As Hiei opened his mouth, he noticed that everyone was quiet again, focusing on their meals, pretending that the silence wasn't bothering them. Hiei's Jagan caught Botan glancing at the clock again.

Keiko noticed Hiei about to speak. "Hiei-san, were you going to say something?"

Once again, Hiei's body was punctured by the eyes of everyone else at the table. Hiei looked up, peering at everyone else as he swallowed his last bit of pork. He could sense everyone expecting him to commend Yukina's cooking. Looking back down at his plate, he softly said, "Thank you for the meal, Yukina." Hiei brought a napkin to his mouth, gently pressing it to his lips. "I especially enjoyed the pork."

Yukina seemed to particularly appreciate Hiei's laud. Kuwabara noticed this and cast more praise onto the Koorime, not to be outdone by the arrogant fire demon.

Hiei finished his drink. "Genkai-sama–"

"–I prepared the room next to Yukina's for you." Genkai's gaze didn't leave her plate as she continued eating. "You may go rest."

Standing, Hiei gathered his plate, napkin, glass, and chopsticks. Botan watched as Kurama handed him the draught. Hiei headed to the kitchen, presumably to place his dishes in the sink, and then headed to the stairs. The ferry girl watched the fire demon's backside as it shifted beneath his pants when he walked. Koenma cleared his throat. "Botan, if you're finished, do you think you can give the mission details to Hiei?"

Botan felt as though her heart jumped, afraid she had been caught staring at Hiei again. She put a hand up to her chest. "Heh…" She gathered her tableware and followed Hiei's footsteps to the kitchen sink and up to his room.

ooooo

"Hiei?"

Botan knocked on his room door with her free hand, her other holding a file. She heard Hiei groan. "Hiei, I need to explain the mission to you."

Hiei opened the door an inch, peering at Botan through the tiny opening with a single tired eye. Botan raised the file in her hand, showing it to him. Hiei's eye flattened when it fell upon the file. "You can tell me tomorrow." The tiny gap disappeared with a soft thud as Hiei shut the door in Botan's face.

Botan huffed with indignity. "Hiei, I _don't like_ your attitude!"

From behind the closed door, the ferry girl heard Hiei reply, "I _don't like_ you. Good night."

Botan's jaw dropped. What had she done to him before? Stick Hiei made a brief appearance in her mind, and Botan briefly feared that Hiei had seen the picture. Did he know that she thought he was gay? Botan shook her head, disregarding the thought, and opened the door, knowing that she was intruding the dark room.

In his dark room, Botan found Hiei in his bed, eyes closed. "Onna. I will open my eyes in ten seconds. If you are still here by then, I will–"

Botan flipped the light switch, effectively cutting off Hiei's death threat and making him cower under his dark gray covers, shielding his eyes from the intrusive light.

"Hiei, Koenma wants you to know the information _now_," asserted Botan, stomping her foot.

From under the covers, Hiei was spewing a stream of colorful curses. Botan opted to let Hiei calm down before continuing and took the opportunity to observe Hiei's simple room. The walls and ceiling were white, illuminated by the single light in the room, the floor wooden, a bed tucked in a corner across from the door, a window covered by a shade above the bed's headboard, and a single chest next to the door. The ferry girl strode over to the side of Hiei's bed and took a seat on the floor right next to his clothes, leaning against the mattress. She opened her file and searched for a paper.

By this time, Hiei ventured to uncover his head and enter the light to find Botan a mere foot away, surprised to see her so close to him.

"Okay, Hiei, will you listen now?"

Hiei snuggled his head further into his pillow and glared at the ceiling, as if trying to burn a hole through it. "Hn!"

Botan looked over her shoulder at Hiei, noting his warm covers and fluffy pillow. "I hope you're comfortable enough."

He focused his glare at the ferry girl. "Just tell me what I need to know."

Sighing, Botan opened the file and began reading the report a Reikai oni typed up not long ago. "Hiei, as you should know, Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara all received supplementary training like you, under the orders of King Enma."

"Hn."

"Kuwabara won't go on this mission, though."

Hiei smirked with amusement. "Good." He was considering sleeping while pretending to listen to Botan, blankly gazing at the plain white ceiling above, eyes only half open.

"After all, he's forbidden to go on diplomatic missions now."

Hiei felt Botan's words flow into one ear and drift out the other as his eyelids were becoming heavier.

"The mission will be in Tokyo, a nearby city that is one of Ningenkai's largest."

Suddenly, Hiei's eyes shot open. "How can such an important mission end up in a place saturated with filthy ningens?"

Botan glared at Hiei admonishingly.

Hiei glared back, making eye contact with Botan for the first time since dinner.

"Ningens aren't filthy, Hiei."

The fire demon rolled his eyes and buried his head over his covers.

"Hiei, stop hiding under those covers and pay attention!" Botan ripped off the covers and flung them onto the ground, revealing Hiei only in his boxers.

"Onna, you baka!" Hiei flew off the bed and dived into the covers on the ground, trying to not only conceal his indecently clad body, but also hide his blushing face.

Botan knew he was wearing little clothing – she was sitting next to most of what he wore minutes earlier – but felt no remorse for what she did. In fact, watching Hiei scramble after his covers gave her a confidence boost. She stood up and sat on Hiei's bed, which was considerably more comfortable than her previous seat on the floor, and tried to fight a smile. "Aw, Hiei, I didn't know you were naked!"

Hiei gathered the covers around his body like a cocoon. He stood, tightened the covers around him, and shuffled toward his bed like an old man wrapped in a heavy carpet who was missing his cane. Taking a seat next to Botan, he was trying to look at anything but her. "I will kill you some day."

"You'll have to wait," said Botan, flipping to another page in the file, "until after this mission, at least."

Hiei lay back down on the bed, rested his head on the pillow, and swung his legs behind Botan. This time, he left the covers around him unwrapped, in case she wanted to toss them back to the floor. He felt like a poorly rolled cigar, his head the only part of his body protruding from the covers. "Finish what you have to say and leave." Hiei rested his head on the pillow again, his head sinking into the softness. "I feel myself getting dumber with a baka ferry onna sitting on my bed."

Botan reached into her pocket and pulled out a roll of measuring tape. "Hiei, you may be an S-class youkai, but you act like a child."

Feeling his blood beginning to boil, Hiei shoved his head under his pillow, desperately trying to block out Botan's voice. How did such an annoying person become the person he wanted to hold in his arms?

Botan stood from the bed, hearing the mattress creak as it was relieved of her weight. As Hiei was beginning to think she was going to leave, Botan grabbed the pillow and flung it to the other end of the bed. "Hiei, before I go, I need to measure you."

Hiei looked up, his expression irritated but questioning.

The ferry girl unwrapped the measuring tape. "Since the mission will be in a large city full of ningens, you need to dress like one."

With his covers still wrapped around him tightly, Hiei went to retrieve his pillow at his feet. Botan watched with interest as Hiei squirmed and wiggled his way to the other end of the bed. "Hiei, you remind me of a clumsy inchworm."

Hiei pretended to ignore the ferry girl. He got close to the pillow before Botan grabbed it again, tucking it under her armpit. Hiei, seemingly out of habit, glared at Botan again, but he felt as though the glare was losing its affect.

Botan was starting to feel like she was babysitting the fire demon. She noticed how his glare lost its intensity and enjoyed seeing him irritated. "Come on, get out of your covers and let's get this over with!"

Softly groaning, Hiei shut his eyes, partially to try to get some much-needed rest, partially to stop looking at her bright pink eyes. "Give me ningen clothing tomorrow."

"Hiei, I can't do that, I need to measure you now so I can get your suit by tomorrow!"

"Onna, just give me any suit. I'm not picky."

"Hiei, suits are ningen formal dress clothing, and they need to fit! I need to measure you _now_!"

Before Hiei could answer, Botan dropped the pillow and proceeded to unravel Hiei from his dark gray covers. "Onna–"

"–You need to get out of your shell for me to do this properly."

Botan then threw the covers on the ground over the pillow, leaving Hiei's almost-bare body in a tousled heap. The fire demon felt soft hands delicately wrap themselves around his wrists but unexpectedly wrench him off the bed to the wooden floor. The hands deftly molded Hiei's body into an erect standing form, his arms held out and parallel to the ground. His body shuttered under the touch of the careful hands and could sense every spot the hands graced. Botan retracted her hands and looked up at Hiei with surprise. Since when was he taller than her? Shrugging, she reached for the measuring tape. "Finally, Hiei! Now, that wasn't too difficult, was it?"

As his body simmered, his mind began racing. Hiei's eyes went wide with shock – he was just caressed by a woman! Botan took the opportunity to measure his arms, wrists, and neck. She was circling around Hiei, positioning herself behind him to wrap the tape measure around Hiei's chest when he finally found his tongue. "I can't believe you just yanked me off my bed." Feeling Botan's fingers gracefully dance by his chest, Hiei's heart fluttered and his face whitened.

Botan blinked. "Hiei, did you just _purr_?"

He glowered at Botan over his shoulder. "I don't purr!"

She countered with a raised skeptical eyebrow.

He snapped his eyes away from her gaze and scoffed. Did he really purr? _Purr_?

"I might just be imagining things, Hiei," offered Botan as she removed the tape from his chest and scribbled a figure on her file. "We're both tired."

Knowing Botan was still behind him, Hiei allowed himself to close his eyes and let a silent sigh of relief escape his mouth. The fingers returned, this time skipping over his stomach. A jolt ran up Hiei's body as he snapped like a jack knife, doubling over. Botan jumped, surprised by Hiei's sudden movement, but quickly recollected herself. "After this measurement, you can put your arms down."

Hiei's brows furrowed, wondering what happened to him as he straightened his back. "Hn."

Botan tried to retake the fire demon's waist measurement, but his body buckled over again. Those fingers…Hiei cursed. Damn those fingers!

The ferry girl grinned with delight. "Aw, Hiei, you're ticklish!"

Hiei frowned. Being called "ticklish" certainly didn't make him feel intimidating.

Botan giggled, overjoyed with her discovery. "You can put your arms down, I'll get your waist last."

Hiei's arms collapsed to his sides. The ferry girl's giggles pranced around his head as he mentally wondered how the elegant fingers had such an effect on his stomach. Deep in thought, Hiei didn't notice her kneel to measure his hips and legs.

Botan reached for her file and recorded a few more numbers. "Alright, Hiei, last one. It's probably easier if you do it yourself."

Dazed, Hiei looked down to find a kneeling Botan offering her the measuring tape. He shook his head a little and blinked. Then, the soft, creamy hands returned, lacing themselves around one of his very own calloused ones. They softly slipped the tape measure between his fingers.

"Hiei, if you can get your waist, we can finish up."

Jumping at the signal that meant being able to get back to bed and recover his body, Hiei rushed to slither the tape around his body. Botan recorded the number and retrieved the tape from around the fire demon. Hiei gasped slightly at the contact, his body faintly twitching at the waist. This didn't go unnoticed, as Botan looked back up to Hiei and smirked playfully. "A ticklish S-class youkai…" She shook her head wistfully.

Hiei had better things to do now than cope with the ferry girl. He gathered his covers and pillow on the ground and leapt onto his bed, trying to forget these recent moments and fall asleep. Still smirking, Botan recorded the last figure on the file.

Feeling his eyelids droop, Hiei listened to Botan scratching on the paper. "Onna? When you leave, would you mind turning out the light and closing the door?"

Botan raised her eyebrows. Hiei just asked a question to her! Politely! She marveled at how the times change until she remembered that when one asks a question, he expects an answer. "Sure, Hiei!"

She gathered her papers, stood, and stretched. Looking at the fire demon, she couldn't help but to think that Hiei looked like a child without worries. He was on his side, his knees bent and tucked to his chest, his arms folded beneath his pillow, his face soft and tranquil. Botan walked to the door and flipped the light switch. She stepped out of the room and almost closed the door when she paused, smirking.

Suddenly, Botan rushed back into the room and snaked her arms underneath Hiei's covers, running her hands over his sides and stomach.

Hiei's eyes shot open again. His body frantically flopped on the mattress like a fish out of water as Botan's fingers assaulted Hiei's sides and belly, the fire demon's newly discovered weakness. "Onna stop – Ah!"

The crafty fingers found a sweet spot a few inches below Hiei's navel. Hiei felt throaty gasps and moans escape from his mouth, music to Botan's ears. The ferry girl rubbed the sweet spot a little more firmly with one hand, even slipping under the waistline of Hiei's boxers a little. The other hand fluttered to his side, pinching and nipping. Hiei's body contracted uncontrollably, as if being shocked by lightning. The fire demon felt the fingers continue skimming over his abdominal area, press on the sweet spot once again, and then vanish.

Botan stood, cheerfully wishing Hiei a good night, and left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Hiei untangled himself and stared up into the darkness, his breath ragged.

Hiei couldn't believe it! He was just about to fall asleep after a long, tiresome day when Botan intruded and woke him up to give him information he could have received tomorrow. Then, when he was about to fall asleep again, Botan intruded (again) and woke him up (again), this time to attack him with her elegant dancing fingers and soft, creamy hands. Pulling the covers back over himself, he turned his blank gaze toward the direction of the door. He could still feel those damned dancing fingers, as if they left footprints on him…

…and he silently wished the fingers would come back and dance just one more time.

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4: Dreams

Hello again! Before posting chapters 2 and 3, I waited until the previous chapter got 15 reviews before I updated. Well, chapter 3, as of now, only has 8 reviews, and I'm getting the impression that people really didn't like it. (cries)

Since this chapter has less motivation behind it, I honestly wondered whether or not to post it, but I'll be leaving for two weeks for some leadership conferences. Bleh.

This chapter is dedicated to (in alphabetical order): Anime-mistress, dark unicorn master, ElfRanger, H/B always, midnight 1987, RitSuYue, smiling cat, and Youko's Kitsune Girl, because all these people reviewed for the chapter I worked hardest on and they made me happy. n.n

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains sexual content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Dreams**

**-**

**-**

"Onna? When you leave, would you mind turning out the light and closing the door?"

Botan raised her eyebrows. Hiei just asked a question to her! Politely! She marveled at how the times change until she remembered that when one asks a question, he expects an answer. "Sure, Hiei!"

She gathered her papers, stood, and stretched. Looking at the fire demon, she couldn't help but to think that Hiei looked like a child without worries. He was on his side, his knees bent and tucked to his chest, his arms folded beneath his pillow, his face soft and tranquil. Botan walked to the door and flipped the light switch. She stepped out of the room and almost closed the door when she paused, smirking. She looked back at Hiei's sleeping form, the oblivious prey resting in the dark. The papers fell to the floor, forgotten. Her fingers flexed, ready to hunt.

Suddenly, Botan rushed back into the room and snaked her arms underneath Hiei's covers, running her hands over his sides and stomach. A maniacal grin appeared on her face as she tweaked and nipped Hiei's body as fast as she could. Hiei's body writhed wildly at her touch.

"Onna stop – Ah!"

She felt her grin grow into a full-fledged smile. She never experienced such a feeling before, a man at her mercy! It was good to be in control! Her fingers were going as fast as they could as her arms sped with her heart rate. Botan had to admit – she enjoyed touching the fire demon! His skin was shockingly warm, soft, and smooth. Muscle rippled underneath, sending pleasant shocks through her fingertips. Although his skin was tight, she managed to pull and tweak at it.

Hiei flopped uncontrollably, tangling his body with her arms and his covers. Botan continued her merciless attack, pausing only to enjoy a throaty gasp slip from Hiei's lips.

Wait, a gasp?

Botan's eyes widened and she put her hands on rewind, seeking the spot she just rubbed that would make such a masculine fire demon yelp and squeal.

"Ohh…mmm…AHHHHH!"

There it was! A feral instinct was born in Botan's mind as she frantically kneaded her fingers on the newly found sweet spot, a few inches below Hiei's navel. Her other hand grabbed, twisted, and pinched his side. Was Hiei moaning? Hiei was moaning! Botan's hand even slipped into his boxers a little, still milking out all the lecherous sounds from the fire demon. That's right Hiei! Moan!

She released the sweet spot to run her hands over Hiei's stomach again. Although she still enjoyed skipping her fingers over his slender waist, Botan instantly missed Hiei's gasps. A finger dug an inch into his boxers again, striking. Closing her eyes, she savored the last whimper.

Botan then withdrew her hands. "Good night, Hiei!" she squeaked, giving a short wave. She ran back out of his dark room and shut his door. Leaning her back on the door, Botan slid to the ground, landing with a thud. Her breathing was erratic. Her fingertips ached to feel his soft, soft skin.

Gathering the papers she dropped on the floor, Botan giggled to herself. She was _not_ going to tell Keiko about this.

ooooo

"_Come with me, Hiei." _

_Hiei lifted his heavy eyelids and uncurled his body. He found Botan hovering on her oar, offering a hand. The ferry girl was adorned by her traditional pink kimono and a melancholy face. He gaped at her, over his bed, and noted her extended hand. Sliding his hand into Botan's, Hiei felt her weave their fingers together and begin to fly off. To his surprise, Hiei was lifting off with her, as if he were the spirit of a dead body._

_Hiei drifted through his covers like mist through a screen, still only wearing his boxers, as Botan towed him with her oar. Pulling Hiei with her, she floated through the roof and into the brisk night._

_Wait. He was floating around like a spirit. Was he dead? He had to be dreaming…_

"Hiei! Rise and shine!"

The fire demon groaned as Yusuke Urameshi hammered on his door. He was dreaming after all. Burying his body further into his bed, Hiei sighed and tried to ignore the spirit detective's beckons. He was just holding hands with Dream Botan! He didn't have to get out of bed now – he was dreaming…

Just dreaming…

Dreaming…

_Wordlessly, Hiei watched the ferry girl's hair fluttering in the breeze. Genkai's temple shrunk in the distance, eventually enveloped by the forest. They were flying through clouds toward the full moon, swimming in the still of the night. Botan, still directing the oar up to the moon, looked over her shoulder at Hiei, gazing at him sadly with her pink eyes. Eyes that sang songs of unfulfilled want and need._

_The oar slowed to a stop over the sea of clouds, the two bathing in the pale moonlight. Botan gently pulled Hiei onto the oar, and suddenly, the fire demon was no longer waving in the sky like a human banner. His legs straddled the oar as the ferry girl shivered. Pulling his chest into her back, she wrapped herself with his arms. Her fingers intertwined with his again, this time opening them and rubbing his palms firmly over her stomach, covered only by her thin kimono. She guided his hands over her slender torso in blissful circles. He felt the delicate skin through the kimono beneath his palms. She then stopped, held his hands still over her lower belly and stroked them, coaxing his fingers to dance together with hers._

_His mind was racing. He took in the cool scent of her hair, not daring to burrow his nose further into something so fresh. He savored the feel of her body against his own, in his arms, beneath his bare hands, not daring to tighten his hold further onto something so beautiful._

_She turned to face him. He was once again meeting longing pink orbs. Still in his arms, she slid a leg between them and swung herself around, now facing him, and pressed her body tightly against his. Her cheeks blushed a deep red. She closed the distance between their hips, stomachs, and chests. Lips quivering, they parted ever so slightly as she leaned into Hiei. She closed her eyes as she slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, smoothed her red-hot cheek against his, scorching him. His eyes closed at the heat. Her lips glazed over an earlobe as she whispered, "Please, Hiei, _touch_ me!"_

_He still didn't move as her fingers danced again, this time on the small of his back. Those fingers…those damnable, diabolical…graceful, elegant fingers…_

_"_Touch _me, Hiei!"_

_Her fluffy hair was like a pillow, soft but thick._

_"Oh, Hiei! Please!"_

_Hiei…_

"HIEI!"

His rusty eyes opened. He just had the most erotic experience of his life, even more so than the previous night's events with Botan's fingers. It was a dream, yes, but still by far the most erotic experience of his life.

The damned ferry girl was shouting his name and pounding on the door, making Hiei's ears ache. "Hiei, I have your suit!"

Groaning, Hiei shoved the covers off his body and rolled out of bed. He preferred Dream Botan to Real Botan. Planting his feet into the wooden floor, he stretched and took a deep, cold breath. Hiei sighed. Real Botan was, once again, being an annoying baka. More pounding on the door.

"Hiei! Come on, get your suit so I can leave!"

It was too early for Hiei to deal with loquacious deities. He walked to the door and threw it wide open. "Give me the damned suit and leave me in peace!"

If he hadn't known better, Hiei could have sworn that Dream Botan stepped out of his fantasies and stood in front of him at that very instance: same pillowy hair, same fresh scent, same thin kimono, same red scorching blush. The only differences were that Real Botan's expression was giddy, ecstatic, and disbelieving, as opposed to forlorn and wanting, and that Real Botan held a suit bag in her hand, as opposed to an oar. Hiei rubbed his eyes, trying to keep them open.

Evidently, Botan was both happy and surprised to see him. Her blush was growing by the second. Her eyes were twinkling, as if laughing, and her mouth was hanging open, silently voicing approval. He held his hand out, gesturing for the suit. Botan, however, seemed to not notice this.

Was she staring at his boxers?

No, surely not, he's just tired. Hiei raised a sleepy eyebrow. If her mouth remained so wide open, bugs would move in. What peculiar behavior. "Onna, you can give me the suit now."

Botan's gaze snapped back to Hiei. Her feet jerked together, her back straightened, and she stuffed the suit bag into the fire demon's arms. "Heh heh…sorry Hiei!" She suddenly searched anxiously for her fastest escape route and ran away.

Hiei yawned as he watched the ferry girl sprint from his view. He shook her head, muttering "baka ferry onna" under his breath, and tossed the suit bag onto his bed. She must have been admiring his almost-naked body. He smirked as he walked to the bathroom. After all, Dream Botan obviously liked his body.

In the bathroom, Hiei shut and locked the door. The (not real) events with Dream Botan replayed in his head, and the fire demon allowed himself a blissful smile. He walked over to the toilet and proceeded to answer the call of nature standing up, like a true man. He reached his hand into his boxers to pull out Hiei Junior…

Hiei paused. Where was Hiei Junior?

Still half asleep, Hiei looked down. Hiei Junior didn't look the least bit tired; he was stiffly protruding from the front of his boxers, proudly saluting the world!

Hiei was terror-stricken. He understood why Botan was so red.

ooooo

Now wearing the black suit, white shirt, and tie that Botan handed him that morning, Hiei sat in Genkai's living room. Yusuke and Kurama, sporting similar attire, went over the final details of the mission with the fire demon. They were going to a meeting, under the guise of entrepreneurs, and Kurama was to sit in a conference room along, doing the talking. Hiei was to snoop around the building complex that housed the meeting, looking for any and all information, and Yusuke was to remain out of the building, monitoring all activity in the building from the streets of Tokyo.

Botan entered the living room. "Okay, guys, ready to leave?"

Yusuke stood. "Alright! Let's do this!"

Kurama followed, motioning for Hiei to stand. Hiei dug his hands into his knees, heaving his body off the couch. Looking up, he found the ever-so-cheerful ferry girl watching him. She blushed again, averting her gaze and struck a conversation with Yusuke.

Hiei felt his own blush warming his face. Mentally reprimanding his penis, Hiei crossed his arms and watched the ground in front of him as he traced Kurama's footsteps out of the temple. Maybe if he's lucky, he'll wake up and realize this is all a dream, an unfortunate side effect of having only 7 percent spirit energy.

ooooo

That night, in one of Genkai's guestrooms, Botan was tossing in her sleep. She was having a dream…

Just a dream…

_"Why do you run away, onna?"_

_Botan sprinted across a vast meadow during a cool spring afternoon. Her body was hot and sticky with sweat. She turned over her shoulder, shouting to her chaser between labored breaths, "Leave – me – ALONE!"_

_Hiei was running, too, but had no trouble subduing the ferry girl. Botan turned her head back forward, willing her aching legs to spin faster and carry her across the grassy meadow._

_"Onna. Stop."_

_As if acting against her, the meadow's grass wrapped itself around Botan's ankle, pulling her to the ground. She braced herself, shutting her eyes, but felt strong arms catch her._

_Hiei smirked._

_Botan struggled against the fire demon's arms._

_The fire demon lay her back on the ground gently, careful not to drop her. Botan, now opening her eyes, gaped at the man staring down upon her. A slender, muscular man wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, a large, throbbing erection from the boxers' front._

_"Onna, this is not for me."_

_Botan groaned in defeat as Hiei lowered himself onto her vulnerable form._

_"Onna, this is…"_

_She felt his hot breath tickle her nose as her eyes closed._

_"…for you."_

_The corner of her mouth met Hiei's gentle but insistent lips. He smothered her mouth with his, fervently leaning into her until he felt her lips return the passion. Who was she fooling; she wanted this more than he did. She began to open her mouth wider, taking in his taste. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, exploring._

_Nimble hands went to undo the silky sash around her waist and threw open her thin kimono, revealing her naked body. She moaned as the warmth of his chest rubbed against hers, his hardness pressing against her wetness. Her lower lip was being suckled by the fire demon, as he folded her fingers together with his, pinning her arms just above her head._

_She was completely at his mercy. Her lips were released as their eyes met. His deep crimson conveyed sorrow, lust, and love before closing again._

_He rested his forehead on hers. "Please, onna…"_

_She groaned an "okay."_

_He found her lips again while she spread her legs wide, inviting him. He positioned his hardness, and without warning, plunged into her._

_She moaned into his mouth as he slowly pumped himself in and out of her, sending wave after wave of wonderful electricity through her body. Botan shuddered, bringing her hips upward to meet his._

_Another sensual shudder…_

_Shudder…_

Botan shuddered. In her sleep, she kicked off her covers, leaving her body left to freeze in only her tight pajama shirt and panties. A biting breeze invaded her room from an open window.

Reaching from her bed, Botan grabbed her covers and hoisted them back onto the mattress. She ran a hand over her panties, between her legs, and sighed. The panties were warm, sticky, and soaked. She brought her other hand to a breast, circling a finger around a pert nipple.

Botan couldn't believe she just had a wet dream with a homosexual.

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

Please review! 


	5. Chapter 5: Cures

THANK YOU SO MUCH, reviewers! I want to send an apology to RitSuYue (in case my lemon offended you) and a special apology to theifThornsofNirvanatheif (since I apparently didn't make my lemon warnings in my summary and in the last chapter explicit enough for you). Forgive me, please! I made major changes to the layout to make the warning stand out and the fic look neater.

There are a few of you who commented on the title for this fic (such as Full Metal Can and RitSuYue). In this chapter, you'll find out why I chose it!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains no lemon, but does contain suggestive content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Cures**

-

-

The following morning, Botan took a long, cold shower. Stepping out of the shower, the ferry girl threw on a bathrobe and wrapped a towel around her hair. She carried her tight pajama shirt and soiled panties in one hand.

She entered her room and picked up her hair dryer with her free hand. Taking a seat on the side of the bed, the ferry girl pushed her thick blankets into a rumpled pile at the bed's foot. A wet spot the size of a soft ball lay right in the middle of the bed covers.

Botan frowned at the moist stain. She preferred to sleep on her stomach, as she had the previous night, but had she slept on her back instead, she wouldn't have to deal with the bed's embarrassing memento of her lecherous fantasies. After plugging the cord into a nearby electrical outlet, Botan pointed the hair dryer at the stain as a murderer aimed a pistol at a victim.

She thought of how Hiei oh-so-arrogantly smirked before he released the Dragon of the Darkness Flame. "Your future is canceled!" growled Botan, mimicking the fire demon. The hair dryer roared like a lion as it pumped heat at the max.

Roasting, the stain melted away like ice cream during a hot summer day. Botan smiled, glad to be rid of the stain, and now reached for her wet underwear. Turning the panties over, she saw that only the bottom of the front was shamelessly damp. She laid the panties on the bed, where the stain used to be. The panties stared up at Botan, as if mocking her.

Botan couldn't help but to feel slightly betrayed by the underwear. It was her favorite pair. Pale pink, slightly faded, maybe even a little skimpy, but it was ridiculously comfortable and fit her snugly. Now, however, it shamed her with its wet spot.

Botan sighed. In secret, she had always been a pervert with fantasies. Only Keiko and a few other close ferry girls knew. No one knew that she was proud of that clandestine wild part of her, but her perverseness never shamed her until now. Looking at her favorite panties, Botan felt they made her look like a child who had yet to be potty-trained. The ferry girl's eyes narrowed as she aimed the hair dryer at another victim.

ooooo

That evening, Botan shared a simple dinner with Yukina and Genkai. The ferry girl and the Koorime began washing the dishes afterwards. Both rolled up the sleeves of their kimonos.

Botan brushed a loose hair behind her ear. "I'll wash, you rinse?"

Yukina smiled. "Okay, Botan-chan."

The ferry girl returned the smile, grabbing a plate and dunking it in the soapy water. "The boys should be coming back soon."

"They don't go on many diplomatic missions."

Botan handed Yukina the plate and reached for another. "No, they don't."

Yukina ran warm water over the plate. "I suppose if the mission involved bloodshed, Hiei-kun wouldn't go."

"Yeah. He had only 7 percent spirit energy this morning."

Yukina's eyebrows furrowed. "Diplomatic mission or not, Hiei-kun should be resting!"

"I agree." Botan's face grew red as she handed Yukina the second plate. "But Hiei's body _definitely_ appeared to be healthy yesterday morning!"

The Koorime blinked. "Did Hiei-kun have a physical yesterday?"

Botan paused. Hiei's hearty manhood escaping from his boxers jumped into her mind. For a moment, she thought back to her rousing dream. "Heh…um…" She reached for a bowl. "I'm afraid not, Yukina-chan."

"But his body appeared to be healthy? Even though his spirit is fragile?"

The blush grew. "At least I would say that he looked pretty healthy," whispered the red-faced ferry girl, more to herself than to the Koorime.

Yukina squealed with glee. "Botan-chan! You're blushing!"

"No I'm not!" insisted Botan, perhaps a bit too quickly.

The Koorime giggled. "You know something I don't, Botan-chan!"

Firmly pressing her mouth shut, the ferry girl stiffly passed the bowl to the Koorime and then dunked some chopsticks into the soapy water. That damned...thing! That thing sticking straight into the air from Hiei's underwear, and she was desperately pushing it out of her mind.

"Aw, Botan-chan…please don't be mad at me!"

Botan gave Yukina a small grin. "How could I ever be mad at you?"

The two finished washing the dishes in comfortable silence. As they dried off their hands and unrolled the sleeves of their kimonos, Genkai entered the kitchen. "Yukina, I hope you're ready to heal. We have a possibly fatal case of severe spiritual strain."

ooooo

When Botan entered the living room, she found Yusuke and Kurama dirty and sweaty, their breathing labored, their suits tousled and ripped. They held a third lifeless form between them, both of them supporting one of its arms around their shoulders, and sat him down on the couch.

The figure stooped backwards to reveal a sharp boyish face.

Yukina sprung into action. "Hiei-kun! What happened?"

Botan gasped, a hand jumping to cover her mouth. Hiei's suit was in the same condition as Yusuke's and Kurama's. However, Hiei wasn't sweaty or dirty. Was he dead?

Yusuke choked between breaths. "Severe – spiritual – strain – don't know – what to do!"

Genkai stepped in. "On the mission, they encountered the worst case scenario and had to fight."

Kurama's lungs felt shriveled. "Yukina-chan – please help!"

Yukina pressed her hand against Hiei's bandana while her other hand checked for a pulse. "His spirit is so thin." She frowned. "His body temperature is low. His pulse is almost nonexistent."

Genkai crossed her arms. "Do you know how to heal him?"

Though worried, Yukina nodded her head fervently.

"Are you willing to do it?"

Suddenly, Yukina's worry was replaced by a strong aberrant distaste. "I…I _could_…but it would be inappropriate!" She turned to the ferry girl. "Botan-chan! I think you're the only person here who can save Hiei!"

Shock overtook Botan's features. "Really? Me?"

Yukina was beginning to panic. "Yes! Please, you HAVE to do it for Hiei-kun! Promise me you'll do it?"

Botan found everyone staring at her expectantly. "Um…" Why was _she_ the only one who could help Hiei? "Okay, I promise. I guess I'll have to…"

The Koorime sighed with relief and flung herself at the ferry girl, embracing her. "Thank you, Botan-chan! Can we take him up to your room? He must lie down in a bed."

Before Botan could answer, Yukina released her and was leading Yusuke and Kurama to Botan's room. The two boys carried the unconscious fire demon between them.

Genkai approached Botan with a book in her hands. "Botan, if you want to cure Hiei's condition, you'll need this book."

The book was the size of a large dictionary. It's black leather cover appeared slightly aged but still in good condition. The pages, once white, where now a light beige. Botan turned the book to look at its title. "Icha Icha?"

ooooo

Botan took the book and went up to her room. Inside, she found Yusuke and Kurama laying Hiei on her bare bed. Yukina turned to find the ferry girl. "Botan-chan, you're here!"

The ferry girl nodded. "Genkai-sama gave me this." She held up the book. "This book is supposed to tell me how to help Hiei."

Yukina paled. She grinned meekly. "Yeah…that's the book you'll need." The Koorime motioned for Yusuke and Kurama to leave the room, saying that she'll heal them outside. Before she left, Yukina pointed to the book. "Hiei-kun is suffering from severe spiritual strain. You can find out how to cure him by looking at the index in the back. Then you'll understand why you're the only one who can cure him." She bid the ferry girl good luck and quickly escaped from the room, locking the door behind her.

Without warning, Botan was alone in a room with an unconscious gay fire demon, the door locked. Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed and opened the heavy book on her lap. "Severe spiritual strain…severe spiritual strain…severe...spiritual...here it is!"

Turning from the index to the correct page, Botan found a passage along with several pencil-drawn pictures. She put a hand to her chin as she read the passage.

_"Severe Spiritual Strain (SSS) Any unfortunate soul whose spirit becomes so weak that his body can no longer maintain homeostasis falls under severe spiritual strain. SSS results when overexerting spirit energy until it reaches its limit, which is when it 'breaks.' Despite modern medical advances, the only known cure is the one practiced for millennia. Thankfully, this ensured cure is simple. Symptoms of SSS include unconsciousness, paleness, low body temperature, low pulse, and erect_ _nipples." _

Botan jumped at the last symptom, her eyes wide. Hiei was obviously unconscious and pale, and Yukina earlier confirmed low body temperature and pulse, but she wasn't sure about the last one…

_"However, the victim should still be breathing regularly." _

The fire demon's chest visibly rose and fell with each breath.

_"When finding a curer for an SSS victim, time is of essence. The victim will be unconscious for 24 hours or longer, depending on his fitness. If no cure is administered, the victim will likely die." _

Botan rolled her eyes. That sure is delightful news.

_"The cure must be administered while the victim is unconscious. To cure the victim, the curer must remove ALL clothing on the victim's trunk, pelvic regions, arms, and legs."_

What! The fire demon's rigid, saluting asset didn't need to make another appearance, did it?

_"The curer must then lie the victim on his back on a bed."_

Botan sighed. Whatever, she'd get it over with. She promised Yukina and had to do it for Hiei's life. Setting the book down, the ferry girl crawled onto the bed to the unconscious fire demon. The jacket and tie came off, later tossed on the floor. She unbuttoned his shirt, yanking the hem out of his pants. Afterwards, Botan unraveled the bandages from his arms. Hiei was now shirtless, his slender body right before the ferry girl to do as she pleased. His body was clean, as if he hadn't been touched before or after his spirit broke. Yusuke and Kurama must have been in bad shape because they had to protect the unconscious Hiei. They had to protect every inch of his wonderfully sculpted body…

The ferry girl reprimanded herself for ogling and shut her eyes. Last night's fantasies were returning, and she desperately wanted to keep the area between her legs dry. Eyes still closed, her fingers felt over Hiei's torso, looking for the correct body parts to check for that symptom about erect nipples.

Botan mentally checked off the last symptom when a thumb collided with a hard bud on Hiei's chest. Mentally sighing, she skimmed her fingers down Hiei's toned stomach, eyes still closed. Recalling the fire demon's ticklishness, she stifled a giggle and resisted the urge to play with his sides.

The fingers groped for a belt. When they found it, they pulled it off and went to the button of Hiei's pants. Botan's eyes squeezed even tighter as her hands brushed over the bulge of Hiei's masculinity as they unzipped the pants. The ruined dress slacks slid off the fire demon's legs and landed on the jacket, tie, and shirt.

Feeling again, the fingers started at Hiei's ankles and worked their way up muscled legs, searching for his boxers. Botan began to worry whether she was squeezing her eyelids so hard that they wouldn't open again. The fingers caught the fabric and yanked the boxers down the path the pants previously traveled. Hiei's underwear topped off the pile of clothing. The fire demon was now only wearing his bandana.

Shielding her view with her hands, Botan yanked her eyelids apart. She turned her back on the fire demon's naked form and placed the book back in her lap.

_"Now, the curer must check the victim's gender." _

Botan put a sarcastic finger to her lips. She _supposed_ Hiei was a boy with boy parts, but she wasn't _entirely_ positive.

_"Only one of the opposite gender can administer the cure."_

The ferry girl was also _pretty_ sure that she was a girl. She huffed. What was this crazy book going to tell her to do next? Take off _her_ clothes as well?

_"Once a curer of the opposite gender is found, she must take off her clothes as well."_

Oh, the irony.

_"Like the victim, the curer must remove ALL clothing on the trunk, pelvic regions, arms, and legs. Then, the curer must arrange both her body and the victim's body according to figure (3.14) below."_

Botan groaned aloud. Was this necessary? Why did she have to do this? Her eyes found the picture labeled (3.14) and widened. In the picture, there were two naked people, a woman on top of a man, bare chest against bare chest. The man's legs were wrapped around the woman's while his arms were around her waist. The woman's hands were buried in his hair, while her face was resting in the crook between the man's neck and shoulder.

To say the least, Botan was appalled. What kind of book was this! She turned the book to the cover to look at its title. It read:

_ICHA ICHA_

_The Comprehensive Guide to Sexual Healing_

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

I can't help it, but Kakashi (from Naruto) is such a bad influence ­– it's his fault! I hope you guys liked it.

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6: Sacrifices

Hello, and THANK YOU, readers! You guys have no idea how happy I was to see that my target was surpassed when I got back form my camps! What a birthday present!

In response to ElfRanger, I truly believe that both Hiei and Botan are honorable and wouldn't do anything _too_ grody. I'm trying to keep this chapter as innocent as possible.

In response to Ze Bishquet, I'm really flattered that you like my fics, even though you aren't a fan of HieixBotan. Thanks to everyone for the support!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains sexual content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

Seriously. Half of this chapter is a lemon and it is now the main reason why this fic is rated M. Be responsible about this and don't say I didn't warn you.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Sacrifices**

-

-

On the wooden floor, a heap of torn black and white clothing lay next to a smaller, neater pile of pale pink. The naked Botan stood by the bed, arms glued by her side, shifting her weight from one shaking leg to the other. Before her on her bed was Hiei, wearing only his bandana, slender, muscular, and unconscious. By the pillow rested the book that pulled the ferry girl into this whole situation.

Botan groaned. She found herself in a predicament: if she followed the book, she'd save a life at the price of her virginity, but if she didn't follow the book, she'd save her virginity at the price of a life. This was horrible!

Her worried eyes traced the outline of the fire demon before her. She had no doubt that she'd enjoy the experience, but she also believed she would regret it in the future. Yukina was correct when she said she was the only one who could administer the cure. No wonder why she, Yukina, was so appalled when Genkai asked her if she knew how to cure him.

A miniature Botan, the size of her palm, appeared on her left shoulder, dressed only in dark red lacy lingerie, showing off as much skin as possible. "Come on, Botan!" it said, grinning like crazy and gesturing toward Hiei. "You might be saving yourself, but saving yourself for _whom_? This is a _perfect specimen_!"

Botan glared at her devil half. "Devil Botan, you know that I don't take my virginity lightly!"

Devil Botan didn't seem to notice Botan refute her cajoles. She was busy rubbing her hands over her scantily clad body, drooling at the sight before her eyes. "Botan! You _want this_! Think about his ass! His _ass_!"

Before Botan had a chance to retort, another palm-sized Botan appeared, but on her right shoulder. "Botan!" This one, dressed in a simple white gown that covered her wrists and ankles, folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "How can you be so selfish? Hiei needs your help! Yukina needs your help! The whole Tantei needs your help–"

"–_Ohhh_!" moaned Devil Botan.

Angle Botan narrowed her eyes at her polar opposite. "Please, Devil Botan, now is not the time! Please remove your fingers from there! You should be ashamed!"

Devil Botan kept her fingers where they were at, but tore her gaze away from the fire demon's body. "Botan, you need to do this! For yourself!"

Angle Botan looked up at Botan as well. "Botan, you need to do this! For Hiei!"

Botan's eyes bounced from Angle Botan to Devil Botan, confused, before finally settling on Hiei. She sighed and reluctantly crawled onto the bed. Angle Botan clapped her hands and said a word of praise as Demon Botan hooted with approval. They both disappeared with a poof of smoke as Botan crawled over the fire demon on her hands and knees and read the book again, checking for further instructions.

_"Before administration, the curer is advised to apply spiritual pressure points on either herself or the victim. One purpose for the pressure points is for birth control, another for multiple orgasms. The latter is more essential than the former because with each climax of the curer, the victim receives more spirit energy."_

There was no doubt about it: the experience itself would be great, but the aftermath was questionable. She took a moment to find pressure points on her neck, hips, and ribs, following the book's directions and illustrations. Afterward, she looked down at the unconscious body beneath her.

Following the books directions, Botan spread Hiei's legs and placed her knees between his. She leaned back, her hands grabbing his ankles and wrapping his legs over and around hers. She then leaned forward again, placing her hands by his shoulders as she slowly eased herself on his body. His soft member tickled her dry womanhood. Soft, delicate hands hoisted thin, muscular arms around a lean waist. Botan sighed once more as she turned out her lamp and buried her hands in Hiei's smooth, glossy hair.

As she felt herself moisten against his manhood, Botan closed her eyes and drifted into a heavy sleep.

ooooo

Botan woke the moment the morning sun entered her window well rested and with a grin on her face. Instantly, she willed herself to fall back asleep on her amazingly comfortable life-sized pillow.

Wait, life-sized pillow?

Eyelids shot open to reveal shocked pink orbs. A naked ferry girl looked down to see a naked fire demon beneath her, still unconscious and still cureless. However, she felt a soft pressure pressing against her below the waist. Lifting herself off of him for a moment, she glanced between their torsos to see his semi-stiff member limply tangling itself into the mass of short, crisp blue hairs between her legs.

Botan whimpered. She had to do it. Now.

She slowly reached her hand down and tentatively grasped Hiei's member, positioning it. Botan brushed the tip against her opening and held her breath.

This was it. The ferry girl said good-bye to her virginity.

Lowering herself onto him, she moaned. She had the head inside; now, she just needed to conquer the rest of his length. A new tingling sensation burned within her loins. Removing her hand, she placed it back into his hair and pressed her chest back against his, bracing herself to push again.

Another inch, another moan. Botan allowed a moment to catch her breath before trying again, this time pushing herself half way. She stopped and shut her eyes, admitting to herself that she enjoyed feeling Hiei inside of her, even if he wasn't even completely hard. Her wetness was dripping down his member, making it slick. She held her breath again as she heaved herself down the rest of his length.

Planting her mouth into the crook of Hiei's neck, Botan stifled a moan that would have woken Yukina next door. Her loins choked his shaft with unyielding tightness. Soon, she relaxed and smiled. The ferry girl played with the fire demon's hair as his manhood stiffened inside her. Her hands clenched into fists as she felt him harden and lengthen inside her, crawling further into her depths, sending electricity up her spine. Her hips shuddered involuntarily as she pressed her mouth against his neck again, a lustful groan rumbling in her throat as she surrendered to a powerful shock of pleasure washing over her body.

Botan grinned. She felt a certain satisfaction, but at the same time began to feel hungry for more. Which was good, because the book recommended the curer to climax three times. One down, two more to go!

Sticking her chest tighter against Hiei's, Botan raised her hips, slowly pulling herself off of Hiei's rigid member until only the head remained inside. She paused, a warm, sticky breeze lazily passing between them and around their junction, and immediately threw herself back down, repeatedly thrusting herself against him relentlessly. Their hips smacked together with every forceful collision, creating a rhythmic clapping beat.

The ferry girl suckled on the fire demon's neck, muffling the gasps, whimpers, and moans that ached to break away from her lips. Her body was beginning to perspire when the warm tingle returned. The motions sped up, the claps getting louder, the ferry girl's lips sucking tighter. Hands fisted silky black hair tightly as Botan almost shouted into Hiei's neck, her second climax taking her.

Silence filled the air as the clapping ceased. Botan took a moment to feel her leaping heart bounce between her lungs. Her nose inhaled the musky scent of the lecherous cure.

After two climaxes, the ferry girl made the fire demon's shaft sleek, firm, and slippery. When the clapping rhythm resumed, Botan had no trouble sliding herself on and off of Hiei. She soon reached her third, the final climax the book called for.

Opening her eyes and gazing out the window, Botan watched the morning sun. The sun seemed to be thanking her for performing such a selfless deed, for sacrificing herself for the good of another…

...wait…

...the book called for three climaxes, and her first occurred when Hiei wasn't hard yet! Did it count?

Botan didn't hesitate to put her mouth back on its spot on Hiei's neck and push her hips up and down again. Better safe than sorry!

Later, number four stormed through her body and the ferry girl was beginning to feel sore. Every bit of her skin was either coated in her love juices or sweat. Her thighs, butt, and lower back were aching and felt stiff. She glanced at the junction of his neck and shoulder, where her lips spent most of their ordeal, and found a red mark. Looks like Hiei will wake up to find a souvenir.

Glancing back out the window, Botan found the sun greeting her again. It seemed to be smiling, telling her "mission accomplished." The ferry girl smiled and giggled softly as she untangled her fingers from the fire demon's hair and placed them on the mattress, ready to pull herself off Hiei's still-hard member.

Without warning, both Devil Botan and Angle Botan reappeared on their respective shoulders. Devil Botan looked up to Botan, grinning. "You're doing well, but you're still not done!" She pointed at Hiei from the left shoulder. "You need to make _him_ come, too!"

Botan blinked. "I've been doing this for more than twenty minutes! If he didn't come by now, I don't think he ever will!"

"Well," began Angle Botan from the right shoulder, "you've had your fun, but you can't stop without giving Hiei a chance! I know you've done a lot for him, but he must be close!"

The ferry girl's jaw dropped. "But I've been doing this for more than _twenty minutes_!"

Angle Botan shrugged. "You can give a little more! I promise it!"

Devil Botan nodded in agreement. "If you do it, you won't regret it!"

The two mini-Botans vanished as quickly as they came and Botan was shocked to find herself having to continue humping the unconscious fire demon. Deep down inside, however, she knew that she didn't mind.

Only minutes after more clapping, Botan bit back into Hiei's neck to stifle another moan. As she rested, she wondered how Hiei had yet to climax when she already had done so five times. Her muscles were incredibly sore, her breathing labored, and her heart racing. Their hips and lower stomachs were painted with her juices. Every surface of her skin was slippery with sweat.

Bracing herself, Botan went on to give it one more go.

When the tingling sensation remerged minutes later, the ferry girl groaned. She was rapidly approaching her sixth climax of the session and Hiei seemed to be nowhere near his first. Her toes began curling under the tingling pleasure of number six. The now-familiar burning raced again through her loins when, suddenly, load after load of hot stickiness poured into her, bringing the ferry girl to almost bite into the fire demon's skin as a final climax took her.

The mini-Botans reappeared again, this time cheering and congratulating her. As the ferry girl slid herself off of the fire demon, Angle Botan smiled widely and spun in a circle, her arms thrown into the air. "Joyous! Botan, you're so kind!"

Devil Botan's hands rubbed up and down her body again. "Aw, I wish I could do to him what you just did!"

Angle Botan glared at Devil Botan. "I won't say it again! Get your fingers out of there!"

Once more, Devil Botan kept her fingers where they were. She stuck her tongue out at Angle Botan. "Make me!"

Bickering, the mini-Botan's disappeared, leaving Botan alone with Hiei again. His member softened as she eased her womanhood onto his lower stomach. Although sated, she could still feel leftover wetness inside her, still drizzling onto Hiei. She could also feel Hiei's hot seed deep in her loins, its warmth spreading throughout her stomach.

Hoisting herself onto her elbows, Botan stared down at Hiei's peaceful countenance. His face was calm and relaxed, the corners of his mouth turned upward just slightly. Botan unwrapped his arms from around her waist and pinned his wrists together over his head on the pillow. As the Hiei in her dreams did to her, Botan wove her fingers with the fire demon's, catching some of his hair between their palms.

How magnificently their bodies fit against each other's! The ferry girl thought back through the previous night and morning's events. She wasn't going to deny it: she had fun and was willing to do it again! Even in her own bed back in Reikai, Botan never felt so comfortable just sleeping.

She untangled her hands from his and supported herself on her elbows. Looking down at Hiei's neck, Botan giggled. Even giving the fire demon a love bite was enjoyable.

Her fingers delicately traced the contours of his sculpted face. A wistful sigh followed by a knowing giggle. A pair of lips slowly descending on another pair. Happy pink eyes being covered by thick eyelids…

As Botan felt Hiei's soft lips barely gazing against hers, her eyes shot open again.

What was she doing? Hiei's gay!

Botan yelped and tried to leap out of the bed, her legs still tangled with Hiei's. She ended up awkwardly bouncing off the wooden floor. Standing, she cursorily threw a thin blanket over the fire demon's sleeping form. She grabbed her clothes on the floor, her bathrobes, and towels, and ran out of the room for a much-needed shower.

She only stopped to lock the door and firmly shut it behind her.

ooooo

Hiei woke to the sound of birds chirping and the sight of a jolly sun in the window. He felt comfortable and strangely… content. Last he remembered, he was fighting on the crowded streets of that ningen city, "To-yo-ko" or something like that, and he was shredding through a small army of lower class demons, one of his swords lit with fire in one hand, another of his swords biting with frost in the other. It seemed as though he just blinked, and suddenly, he was in this foreign room.

A room with a ferry girl oar standing by the door.

Hiei blinked and took a good look at his surroundings. He recognized the bland room as one of Genkai's guestrooms, and the oar and numerous pink kimonos indicated that it was Botan's.

So what was he doing in _Botan's bed_?

Throwing the thin blanket off himself, Hiei found out that he was not only in Botan's room, but also naked.

Yes.

Without warning, the smell of raw fish hit Hiei's sensitive nose. The fire demon cringed distastefully at the thick aroma. That baka onna must have brought some rotten salmon here for breakfast.

Hiei dismissed the smell. He sat up, stretching. For some reason, his body felt sticky. He looked down and wiped his moist lower stomach with the back of his hand.

Crimson eyes widened. Within his own black pubic hair, Hiei found slivers of curly baby blue.

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

Lemons are incredibly hard to write without using obscene terms, especially if you don't want to make the characters seem trashy or your story to get deleted. I struggled a lot with this chapter, so I really hope you guys liked it!

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7: Mates

Thank you SO MUCH, reviewers! We exceeded my target!

Shout-outs for everyone (in order of review): **midnight 1987**-(hits Botan) Yes, Botan is _quite_ naughty in this fic! **Dream x Spirit**-I'm glad you thought my lemon was easy to picture! It's also always nice to hear that people like the way I write. I'm also glad you liked Devil and Angle Botan! **Dragon of the Earth**-Yes, my friend, raw fish! I'm glad you thought last chapter was funny! **Blue Angel 1245**-Hiei's awake, and I hope you like his reaction, especially since you're one of my best reviewers! **Ze Bishquet**-Nora Roberts, hm? Wow, I'm really flattered. n.n I hope you're liking HieixBotan fandom! **Ject92**-Here you go, next chapter, hot and fresh! **PrettyKitty688**-Yeah, I didn't do a good job avoiding OOC-ness, but I'm doing my best to steer everything back on track. **bLaCk heAveNs**-Aw, thank you! n.n That really puts a smile on my face! **SpikedStar**-(sighs in relief) glad you liked my lemon! It really was hard to write! **Keke Koorime**-Hm…yes, someone was caught, but we'll see how Hiei thinks of the…evidence Botan left behind! **lemonlips**-The last lemon will probably be as descriptive, as I'm quite the pervert. n.n **Kan02**-I'm so glad to hear I hold your interest! As a writer, holding the reader's interest is one of my top priorities. **blah**-Aw, thanks a lot! You've done good for everyone and motivated me! **Full Metal Can**-Lemony goodness! I love it! Btw, thanks for being my special first reviewer! **XRX**- I'm so glad to hear I hold your interest! As a writer, holding the reader's interest is one of my top priorities. **Hiei's Ningen Mate**- Here you go, next chapter, hot and fresh! **smiling cat**-I'm still deciding when Botan will find out Hiei's…preferences. Glad you liked the mini Botans! **hieiyamimoya**-Cold showers always hit the spot! Glad you liked the lemon! **H/B Always**-You'll find out very, very soon, my friend! Here's the next chapter! **Revieweriinlove**-I'd really like to write multiple lemons, but they'd all turn out to be the same. Meh. But it's nice to hear that the lemon didn't turn out trashy!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains no lemon, but does contain suggestive content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Mates**

-

-

Even after a cold shower, Botan's skin still tingled from the touch of the fire demon.

Just minutes after the event, the ferry girl was already regretting her actions against the unconscious Hiei. She was ashamed to admit it, even if she'd only admit it to herself, but the arrogant fire demon would forever hold a place in her heart. Hiei was the person she gave her virginity to. The ferry girl's fingers fisted only his hair, her legs tangled with only his legs, her lips suckled only his neck, her bare breasts touched only his bare chest.

Of course, those aren't the only body parts of hers that mingled with only other body parts of his.

Botan sighed. She knew that she'd have to get over it, consider it a one-night stand. How awful was that? Botan was saving herself for someone special, for someone she was going to spend the rest of her life with, and she had to sacrifice it, give it away to someone who didn't even know. Hiei would have to live without knowing that the ferry girl gifted him with her chastity. While the fire demon lives oblivious, the ferry girl would admire him from afar…

Admire? Was that the right word to use? Botan frowned. Hiei's gay, remember? Shrugging, the ferry girl decided that she might as well be honest with herself. She was hopelessly attracted to the fire demon. She approved of every bit of his body, even the Jagan. She wanted to run her hands through his hair and over his stomach again. Her fingers ached to dip under his waistline again and listen to the musical moans escape his lips.

She groaned hopelessly. There was probably a Reikai regulation that outlawed any intimate contact between deities and demons.

ooooo

Hiei delicately extracted the curly blue hairs from his small mass of black. Analytically, like a chemist, he placed them in his hand and counted them.

Six total. Had they been any other color, or even any other shade of blue, Hiei might not have noticed them. Blue as vibrant as a healthy sky during an innocent cloudless summer day, immersed in black as dark as sin. A true Yin and Yang.

There was no other person in the three worlds who had baby blue hair like this. Hiei knows this person. Hiei knows that he's in her room. Hiei knows that he's in her bed. Hiei knows that he's _naked_ in her bed. Naked, and sticky with sweat.

…

…Botan…

…

Hiei's face twisted with disgust as he flung the hairs out of his hands. Why was Hiei Junior sprinkled with Botan's _armpit hair_?

ooooo

Stepping out of the bathroom, Botan shook her head violently, desperately trying to throw the heated memories out of her mind. Wearing her bathrobe and a towel around her hair, she strode down the hallway to her room, a key in hand. Unlocking the door, she cursed her perverseness again.

ooooo

Gross! Armpit hair!

Hiei tried to wipe his hands with Botan's sheets as if his hands were wood and the sheets were sand paper. Even though he though Botan was beautiful, there was absolutely nothing attractive about her armpit hair, especially when they were around Hiei Junior. Looking at the sheets around him, the fire demon decided that if there were armpit hairs on his body, there would surely be more in the sheets. Repulsed, he threw the sheets to a corner on the other side of the room.

Without warning, the door handle rattled. The fire demon looked up, his eyes wide with shock as the door opened and the ferry girl stepped inside, covered in a robe and towel, cursing under her breath.

Oblivious to (the awake and watching) Hiei, Botan shut and locked her door. Briskly, she shrugged off her robe and tossed it over her shoulder onto the bed, incidentally covering everything on the fire demon from his stomach to his knees.

Naked and unaware she was being watched, the ferry girl marched to a full-length mirror on the wall opposite of the bed. Unwrapping the towel from around her hair, Botan roughly wiped off the remaining moisture from her face, chest, and legs.

Botan glanced at the mirror again. In the mirror, she could see a wide-eyed fire demon gaping at her. The fire demon who should have been unconscious gaping at her naked reflection.

Some drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth, but Hiei didn't notice. He was too preoccupied by the reflection before him. A slender woman stood in the mirror, her skin smooth and creamy. The towel rubbed over her round, supple breasts, a pink bud on each. A patch of baby blue rested between a pair of long legs.

Both furious and flustered, Botan turned around, covering her front with her towel, and glared at Hiei. "YOU PERVERT!"

The fire demon didn't make eye contact with her, didn't notice her accusing finger pointing at him. In fact, he seemed to still be gaping at the mirror behind her. A red hue settled on the awestruck fire demon's complexion.

Botan huffed indignantly. What was Hiei's problem? To see exactly why he thought the mirror was so impressive, she peered over her shoulder. Behind her, she saw not only the mirror, but also the reflection of her ass.

Yelping, the ferry girl jumped away from the mirror. Her pulse quickened when she realized that the towel wasn't big enough to cover her whole body. Where was the robe when she needed it…

There it was! Right over the fire demon!

Sprinting to the bed, Botan grabbed the robe and ripped it from over Hiei.

Now, Hiei was completely exposed.

Not cool! _Not cool_!

Panicking, he lashed out to the robe that was fleeting from him. "Baka onna, what are you doing!"

The ferry girl accidentally dropped her towel, but was too preoccupied in her naked tug-of-war with the fire demon over her robe. "I want to cover myself, Hiei-no-baka! What are _you_ doing?"

"I'm trying not to be indecent!"

"Well me too! If you let go of _my_ bathrobe, at least _I_ can be covered!"

"You? Then what about me?"

"You'll let go or else!"

"Onna, you're in no place to threaten me!"

"Hiei, I know your weakness!"

"I have no weakness–"

Botan let go of the robe and clutched at the fire demon's sides. Immediately, all rational thought left the fire demon's mind as he flopped uncontrollably on the bed. Pleading whimpers soaked the air. Her fingers stormed on his stomach until Hiei released the robe.

Pink eyes widened with anticipation as the bathrobe slipped from the fire demon's fingers to the floor, falling as if in slow motion. Botan's hands released Hiei and went for the robe. Just as she grabbed it, another pair of hands grabbed the other end.

Botan looked up to see that Hiei quickly recovered and his lighting-fast reflexes weren't affected by severe spiritual strain. No matter! She still had a special target she didn't strike yet!

Letting go of the bathrobe, Botan smiled wide as she attacked the sweet spot a few inches below Hiei's navel.

Ruthless fingers kneaded agonizing circles on Hiei's lower stomach.

"_Ahhh_ – _ohh_ – mm – AHHH!"

Adrenaline pumped through her body as the ferry girl listened to the fire demon's moans. Beaming like a clueless lunatic, Botan almost didn't notice her robe fall to the floor.

Hiei's heart beat so hard that he could even hear his pulse. The fingers showed some mercy when he released the bathrobe. He was both glad and disappointed that Botan stopped tickling him.

Botan grinned victoriously as she put on the robe and tied the sash of the robe around her covered waist. The grin melted into a smirk when her eyes fell upon the still naked fire demon on her bed.

The pink eyes never looked so dangerous before. "Hiei…"

The crimson eyes flashed with apprehension.

"_Hiei_…"

Hiei was not going to like this.

"You need to be disciplined!"

Suddenly, Botan took out her wrath on Hiei's sweet spot. The room filled with his husky gasps and whines. Fingers continued rubbing against the sweet spot until the ferry girl's elbow collided with the fire demon's erection.

Botan and Hiei paused and stared at the excited Hiei Junior. Both turned red, Hiei out of embarrassment, Botan out of anger.

"YOU PERVERT!"

The once flitting fingers on Botan's right hand unified into a solid board as she slapped the fire demon's rigid manhood.

Hiei doubled over in pain, his groans not quite as salacious as they were moments ago. Curled into a small, quivering, naked ball, the fire demon glowered at the ferry girl with pure animus. "Baka onna! That was unwarranted!"

Botan didn't flinch. She actually returned the full glare. "You deserved it! You're not even supposed to be awake right now!"

Fuming, the ferry girl stomped toward the door, threw it wide open, and left.

ooooo

"Yukina, could you check on Hiei and Botan? I think Hiei is awake."

"Yes, Genkai-sama."

Yukina climbed the stairs and went to Botan's room to see Botan storm out of her room and into the bathroom, obviously pissed off. Luckily, the ferry girl left her door open. The Koorime entered to see Hiei in his boxers, pulling on the ripped undershirt he wore yesterday. "Hiei-kun! You're awake!"

Startled, Hiei looked up with wide eyes. He relaxed when he saw it was Yukina. "Hello, Yukina-chan."

"Do you feel well?"

The fire demon nodded. "Can I change and go downstairs to talk? I doubt I'm welcome in the ferry onna's room."

The Koorime blinked. That's right; Hiei was in Botan's room to be…"cured." She grinned mirthlessly. "Of course, Hiei-kun."

Hiei quickly changed into simple ningen athletic wear (a simple shirt and some cropped mesh pants called "Jim shorts") and found Yukina and Genkai eating breakfast at the table in the dinning room. Yukina prepared Hiei's food and placed it in the seat next to hers. "Please, eat, Hiei-kun!"

Complying wordlessly, the fire demon gave the Koorime a small appreciative smile as he sat. He wasted no time to dig into the rice.

Genkai stood. "Yukina, Hiei, I have some business to tend to. I'll be back before lunch."

The two watched Genkai leave until she disappeared down a hall.

Yukina turned back to Hiei. "How do you feel?"

Hiei swallowed a mouthful of rice. "I'll live."

"No, seriously, do you feel tired? Dizzy?" asked Yukina, frowning.

"My spirit is still fragile. I don't feel dizzy, but I probably don't even have enough energy to run."

"Are you going to rest here until your spirit is restored?"

"No."

Hiei saw Yukina's countenance fall with disappointment.

"Yukina-chan, I need to leave for a month to restore my efficiency. Otherwise, I'll be a burden to the Tantei as I was during yesterday's mission."

"Don't say that!"

"Say what?"

"That you're a burden! You're anything but a burden!"

"Had I been more efficient, I might not have passed out. Yusuke and Kurama could have finished the mission more successfully without me."

The Koorime fell silent.

"After next month, I'll be twice as strong as I was before I took the Dalin graduation exam."

Not answering, Yukina thought to herself.

The fire demon shoveled some more food into his mouth.

"…Hiei-kun?"

"Hn?"

"What is it about the Dalin graduation exam that makes Dalin Temple so infamous?"

Hiei looked down at his half-eaten rice. "I'm not supposed to say…"

Yukina pouted.

"…but I'll tell you anyway, as long as you don't say a word about this later."

A bright smile replaced the pout instantly.

Hiei leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "All Dalin Temple students and alumni are sworn to secrecy, so you really can't repeat what I'm going to say."

The Koorime nodded.

"To graduate, I had to fight using only ice for eight hours. The whole time, I wasn't allowed to use my swords, fire, or the Jagan."

Yukina's eyes widened. "Eight hours! Most fights aren't any longer than ten minutes! Who did you fight?"

"First I fought my sensei, Touya, for an hour. After the first hour, I fought other masters until I reached hour eight. For the final hour, I fought Dalin-sensei himself."

"That's so carnal!"

"It may be carnal, but it made me stronger."

The Koorime was skeptical. "You just suffered from severe spiritual strain."

The fire demon flinched. "Well, the exam will make me stronger when I recover in a month."

"Why will it take a month for your spirit energy to return? Shouldn't your spirit restore itself after a week?"

"My spirit will be fine in a week, but I would ordinarily need a few months to regain efficiency. At Dalin Temple, I met a Reikai monk who can improve my efficiency and train me. He can shorten the time to a single month. He owes me several favors, so he'll be willing to do it. I will leave for Reikai in two days to find him and learn from him."

"How will you get to Reikai?"

"I've been talking to Yusuke a lot recently. I convinced him to help me with a portal–"

Suddenly, Hiei clamped his mouth shut and glared over his shoulder. "What do you want, onna?"

By the entrance to the dining room stood Botan, donning her simple pink kimono that Hiei saw in his dream. Botan didn't cower under the intense crimson eyes. "I'm here for breakfast."

The eyes didn't waver. "How much did you hear?"

Botan folded her hands before her. "Everything from when you sat down and started eating."

Hiei turned back to his breakfast on the table. He mentally smacked himself. Was he so weary now that even his Jagan couldn't sense Botan?

The fire demon finished the rest of his food and stood. "Thank you for the food, Yukina-chan."

Yukina's eyes widened. "Hiei-kun, where are you going?"

"I need to step outside and meditate."

As Hiei left, Botan took his seat with her own meal.

The Koorime spoke with a hushed tone. "Why is Hiei-kun awake? He shouldn't have opened his eyes until this evening!"

Botan grimaced. "I really don't know. I didn't expect him to wake up this morning, either."

"Botan-chan, did you–"

Yukina held her tongue, opting to chose her words carefully.

The ferry girl took a sip of tea. "What is it, Yukina-chan?"

Yukina sighed. "So, you…cured Hiei?"

Botan looked down, knowing full well how red her face was glowing. The ticking of a clock in the next room could be heard when she finally decided to answer. "…Yeah, I cured Hiei."

The Koorime played with her chopsticks. "I'm really sorry to have to ask you to do it."

The ferry girl shrugged. "You said it yourself: I was the only one who could cure him." Botan watched as Yukina twirled a chopstick in her fingers, much like how Hiei twirled his katana. "Why did he wake up so early? The book said he wouldn't wake up for at least twenty-four hours."

"I'm not too sure. Did you follow all the directions in the book?"

Botan frowned, embarrassed. "Yeah…I followed them."

"Did you apply the pressure points?"

"Yeah."

"Did you…" The spinning chopstick slowed down. "…um…" The chopstick fell to the table clumsily. "…climax?"

The ferry girl stared down at her hands in her lap. "…Yeah."

"Three times?"

Botan's face flushed, not unnoticed by Yukina. She chuckled sheepishly. "Not exactly."

Yukina's gaze was stern. "What happened? How many times?"

A groan. Botan buried her face in her hands. "Six."

"Six times! That's twice as many times as the book called for! No wonder why he woke up so early! Why did you go on to six times?"

Botan muttered something incomprehensible into her hands.

"I'm sorry, Botan-chan, I didn't catch that. Can you repeat that?"

"…I wanted to make him come, too."

Yukina immediately regretted pressing the issue. That was too much information! Botan really must have enjoyed herself with Hiei.

The ferry girl suddenly peered from under her hands. "_Wait a second_…Yukina-chan! Why is it that you couldn't administer the cure instead?"

The Koorime's eyes widened. "That'd be so _wrong_!"

A brow above a suspicious pink eye arched. "And why would it be so wrong?"

"Because Hiei-kun is my brother!"

"Aha!" Botan pointed at Yukina. "I knew you knew!"

Yukina was confused. "You know I knew?"

"Yes! I knew you knew! Now, you know I knew that you knew!"

"…What?"

"Did you know that no one knew that you knew?"

"Botan-chan, you're not making any sense!"

"But now, I know that you know that I knew that you knew!"

Yukina never felt so muddled. "What are you talking about?"

Triumphant, Botan smiled. "You knew that Hiei was your brother! I thought he wasn't going to tell you!"

Realization dawned on the Koorime. "Oh, I see now! No, no, no, that's not it."

Botan blinked. "Really? How did you know?"

Yukina shrugged. "I thought it was obvious. I just don't understand why Hiei-niisan doesn't want me to know."

"Well," began Botan, playing with her food, "I believe Hiei thinks you'd be ashamed that you two are kin."

"I would never be ashamed!" Yukina folded her arms over her chest. "I'm proud to call Hiei my brother, no matter what negative connotation his various titles hold. He's an S-class youkai!"

Nodding, Botan couldn't help but to mentally add the undermining word "ticklish" in front of "S-class youkai."

"Furthermore­–" Yukina's eyes flashed with confidence. "–he's the most honorable youkai I've ever known. If he wasn't a fighter, I think he'd be a very ethical and successful entrepreneur."

Botan scratched her head. She never saw Hiei as someone other than a ferocious warrior or an attractive male. Or a homosexual.

Yukina deflated, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I just wish he would accept me as a sister as I accept him as a brother."

"Yukina-chan! He loves you! You know that!"

"He might, but he doesn't accept any love in return! He gives, but refuses to receive." The Koorime frowned dejectedly. "He takes 'the Forbidden Child' too much to heart. He'll never know the joys of having a family, or having a mate…"

Suddenly, Yukina's eyes flashed with mischievousness. "Maybe Hiei-niisan _will_ know what it's like to have a mate!"

The ferry girl didn't like the look she was getting. "Um, Yukina-chan…why are you looking at me like that?"

"I saw teeth marks on Hiei-niisan's neck. It looked like someone mated with him!"

Botan stood jumped to her feet, traumatized. "WHAT!" she shrieked. "Are you telling me that Hiei and I are _mates _now just because I bit him?"

Yukina was terror-stricken. "Botan! Do you mean to tell me that you didn't know?"

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

Um…yeah, a little bit of influence from tuathafarie's Tethered: or a Demon's Kiss is Dangerous.

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8: Expressions

Thank you SO MUCH, reviewers, and HELLO reviewers! I just want to say that I'm really sorry for updating slower than I usually do. I made drastic changes to my outline and ended up lengthening this story considerably. Originally, there were only going to be ten chapters. Now, there are going to be…more than ten!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains no lemon, but does contain suggestive content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Expressions**

-

-

"WHAT! I HAVE A _MATE_ NOW!"

Yukina winced, covering her ears with her hands. Picture frames in the dining room were shaken askew. Botan's yell even rattled the silverware on the table, plates a centimeter or two away from the spot they were at before.

Frantic, wide-eyed, and sweating, Botan didn't notice her booming shout shake the dining room. Her lungs suddenly shrunk, making breathing arduous, and her face paled. Her cheeks twitched involuntarily.

Yukina removed her palms from the sides of her head. "Botan-chan…are you okay?"

Dumb question.

Although she was sitting right before the Koorime, Botan was anywhere but with her in Genkai's temple. The ferry girl's mind raced at the speed of sound, replaying scenario after dreadful scenario of her and the arrogant fire demon living under the same roof together.

"Botan! Come on, it can't be that traumatic, can it?"

Botan was suddenly back with Yukina. She blinked, shaking her head vigorously. "No, no, no, _no_, NO!"

"Botan-chan, people mate all the time! Especially here in Ningenkai!"

The ferry girl groaned. Her head dropped lifelessly into her open hands. "But I didn't want to mate with anyone! Especially Hiei!"

The Koorime's features fell, a small frown forming. Her crimson eyes fell to the floor, defeated. "…Hiei-niisan isn't that bad."

The bouncy blue hair before Yukina shook from side to side. Botan muttered something incomprehensible, probably more to herself than to Yukina.

Yukina sighed. She understood how shaken Botan must have been, but knew the instant Hiei was in the room that there was a newly established special bond between him and the ferry girl. Botan's scent clung to Hiei like velcro, and Hiei's scent clung to Botan similarly. Yukina presumed that Hiei didn't notice because he was inhaling her scent since the previous evening and because his spirit was still weak. After all, he didn't notice Botan when she entered the dining room moments ago. However, Hiei always needed someone to share his life with. "Please, Botan-chan, give him a chance! A mate is something Hiei has needed for a long time! You can really help him out and make him happy!"

Wearily, the ferry girl looked up at the Koorime with wet red eyes, streaks of tears glistening on her cheeks. "But what about _me_! A mate isn't something _I_ need!"

"It might not be something you need, but I think it's just more than you're used to! Hiei-niisan will never be disloyal or dishonest to you! We both know how hard it is to find people like that these days!"

Botan wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her kimono. She sniffled woefully.

"Aw, Botan-chan…" Yukina pulled Botan into a warm embrace, patting her back gently. "I understand this might be a bit much, but I think you'll be happy with Hiei-niisan."

When Yukina embraced her, her arms felt too much like those of…Hiei. Unexpectedly dry-eyed, the ferry girl jumped, almost tearing away from Yukina's arms. Shaking, Botan closed her eyes to calm herself. The ferry girl's heart thumped against her ribs.

Botan opened her eyes. "Oh, sorry, Yukina-chan!"

Yukina smiled, brushing off the incident. "That's okay, Botan-chan!"

The ferry girl tried her best to return her own smile, no matter how phony it felt. Watching the smiling Koorime, Botan inwardly promised herself not to explain to her the doubtlessly copious reasons why she wouldn't want to be mated with Hiei.

Yukina took a delicate sip of tea. "You know, Botan-chan, I may be wrong. Even though you're covered in his scent and Hiei-niisan has bite marks on his neck, you two might not be mates. If your bites weren't too deep, they'll fade eventually. If they do, then you two are still separate."

Pink eyes widened, glistening with newfound hope. A genuine grin replaced the phony smile. "Really?" Botan squealed. "Yukina-chan, this is great news!"

"But there's also a chance that the marks won't fade."

"Yes, but…there _is_ a chance that they _will_, right?"

"Right…but if they don't, do you know what happens?"

Botan sighed. "That means we have to live together."

"It means," said Yukina, leaning forward, "that you will live together for the rest of your lives."

"What! You mean that we can't get a divorce or something?"

The Koorime shook her head. "Mating is a commitment ended only in death."

They ferry girl groaned. She shoveled a little bit more of her breakfast into her mouth before standing. "Thanks for the chat, Yukina-chan, but I really need to find your brother."

"Don't worry, Botan-chan." Yukina grinned. "I understand."

"But first…" The pink eyes narrowed. "…I have some _business_ to take care of."

ooooo

Like the morning after Botan had her…_interesting_ dreams, there was a wet spot on Botan's bed sheets. Since she "cured" the fire demon, less than an hour had elapsed. In that time, the ferry girl was able to fit in a cold shower, a naked tug-of-war over her bathrobe (which she was proud to say that she won), and breakfast. Now, after all that time, the stain had shrunk considerably, but she still needed the hair dryer to finish off the "business."

ooooo

Soaring through the sunny, cloudless sky on her oar, Botan searched the forest surrounding Genkai's temple for a certain fire demon with her teeth marks embedded in his neck. The greenery spread as far as the eye could see, the occasional river or lake sprinkled here and there. Botan smiled at the spectacular display of nature below her until she saw a sitting figure atop a grassy treeless hill that stood proudly over the forest.

Hiei.

Seeing him on the green hill reminded the ferry girl of her dream that resulted in the first wet spot on her bed sheets. The dream where Hiei, naked except for a pair of boxers, his prize protruding from the front, chased after her and made sweet, sweet love to her in the grassy meadow…

...Just the two of them...

Whoa, snap out of it, Botan!

The ferry girl mentally smacked herself. She took in a dignified gulp of air and dipped her oar, flying down to the fire demon on the hill. When she landed, she saw Hiei sitting at the very top cross-legged, his eyes shut in peaceful concentration, his arms resting on his knees, his hands opened and turned palms up, his thumbs and forefingers connected, making small rings.

The oar disappeared with a noiseless poof of smoke as Botan approached Hiei tentatively. However, Hiei didn't budge. His eyes remained shut, even when the gentle breeze played with his hair and bandana. The ferry girl even walked a few circles around him, waving her arms and making faces silently, but the fire demon didn't notice her, still lost within himself.

Shrugging, Botan took just next to Hiei, mimicking his posture exactly. She grinned senselessly as she shut her eyes and tried to find inner peace, as Hiei obviously had.

Delicious silence.

The grin didn't leave Botan's face as her thoughts drifted to the handsome fire demon beside her. He still didn't realize he wasn't alone! Stifling a giggle, she realized that she could probably give him a lap dance and he still wouldn't notice. She thought of all she could do to the oblivious Hiei as she felt her hair rise due to the breeze, as if her hair defied gravity.

While Botan was daydreaming, Hiei was sorting out his numerous problems and questions at hand. Will he find the Reikai monk? If he does find him, will the monk's training work for him? Is he getting stronger? And more importantly, why does his crotch itch so much? Since he left Genkai's temple to meditate, he felt as though someone brushed syrup on every surface of his skin from between his hips up to his navel and then wiped the syrup off, leaving a sticky residue. Quite uncomfortable indeed.

He felt a small warmth brush between his fingers on one of his hands. Opening an eye, he saw that his fingers were mingled with someone else's. A single deep red eye met with bright pink.

"WHOA!"

Hiei scurried away from the other person as if she were a disease. He relaxed when he saw it was just that baka ferry onna. Falling backwards into the soft grass as if it were a bed, Hiei clutched his pounding heart. "Baka onna! What are you doing here?"

Botan stood and moved toward Hiei. "I needed to find you," she said, sitting down again beside him, "to settle a pressing matter."

Hiei shut his eyes, throwing his forearms over his face as if to shield his vision. "You startled me!"

A smile. "Really? Imagine that! Me, a simple ferry girl, startling you, S-class youkai Hiei Jaganshi, wielder of the Jagan eye and the Darkness Flame! I must be like the only one to ever catch you off guard!"

A frown. He knew that she was right. "Why didn't I sense you?"

A shrug. "I don't know. Maybe because you still have barely any spirit energy?"

A snort. "Even so, I should have smelled you."

A glare. "Are you saying I stink?"

A smirk. The ferry girl was so easy to annoy.

A gasp. Botan suddenly remembered Yukina saying that Hiei's scent was all over her. No wonder why he didn't notice he wasn't alone: he has low spirit energy and Botan smelled just like him.

Hiei peered from under his arms. "What is the pressing matter that needs settled and why does it involve me?"

"Oh, yes, that! Let's see, I needed to…" Botan's mouth was left open as she forgot why she searched for Hiei in the first place. A thoughtful finger went to her chin. "You know what, it just slipped my mind…"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Hiei picked his arms off his face and wedged them behind his head. He squinted into the sunny sky. "This matter is so pressing that you can't remember it?"

Botan didn't catch the sarcastic remark. A light bulb lit above her head. "Ah, that's it! Hiei, I need you to take off your shirt!"

An arched eyebrow.

An insistent nod.

A flat stare.

A resigned moan. "Hiei, may you _please_ take off your shirt?"

An incredulous groan. "Baka onna. I wasn't implying you lacked etiquette."

A frustrated sigh. "Hiei, I'm serious. This is important and I really, really, _really_ need you to take off your shirt!" Botan's eyes widened and her hand clasped her mouth, just understanding how perverse her request must have sounded. "I don't mean that!" she vowed, not liking Hiei's skeptical gaze. "But the sooner you do it, the sooner I can get this over with and leave you alone!"

Hiei was impressed with Botan's statement, although this was belied by his doubtful facial expressions. He wouldn't admit it, but the ferry girl knew how to negotiate. She showed an interest in his best interest in cajoling him to collaborate so she can leave him in peace sooner as a consequence. "Why must I remove my shirt?"

A sound leapt from the ferry girl's mouth but she cut herself off. She was about to tell him the blunt and embarrassing truth when she realized she couldn't tell Hiei she wanted to check for her bite marks. She could just picture that in her head: "Hey, Hiei, you need to take your shirt off because I might have claimed you as my mate when I was humping your unconscious body this morning and I need to check out the hicky I gave you to see if we're tethered for life!"

The ferry girl averted her gaze, scratching her head hesitantly. She needed to do some fast thinking! "I know some pressure points…that'll help you…regain spirit energy faster!" Botan straightened her back, folding her arms over her chest, and smiled to herself. How was that for fast thinking? She showed an interest in Hiei's best interest in helping Hiei regain spirit energy so she could check the bite marks as a consequence.

The fire demon closed his eyes again. The corners of his mouth were curving upward slightly. "Onna, you're only a mediocre liar."

Botan gasped indignantly. "Oh, really? Well I apologize for my lack of experience. I'm sure I'm not _nearly_ as proficient at the art of lying as you are, Hiei!"

A sole crimson eye opened lackadaisically, peering at the ferry girl. "If I can't speak truth, I don't speak."

One of Botan's brows cocked, as if to challenge Hiei. Both her pink eyes searched his single open crimson, digging for a dilating pupil or any other indication of a lie.

Hiei had no trouble maintaining eye contact with Botan's scrutinizing glare. Eventually, the glare lost intensity, and finally Botan gave up.

"Hiei," she mumbled. "Can you just take your shirt off?"

"I'm still not convinced about your matter."

Botan groaned. Why couldn't Hiei just listen? "With more spirit energy, you'll be more alert…if you let me apply the pressure points, I won't be able to sneak up on you anymore."

Oh? Hiei still looked at Botan with only one lazy eye, but she had his full attention. Whatever, he had enough of this. He'd play along.

The fire demon gruffly sat up and reached for the hem of his shirt. After pulling the shirt over his head, he rolled it into a loose ball and placed it beside him. "Let's just get this over with."

Eyes widening, Botan noted how Hiei was more alluring without a shirt when he was awake then when he was asleep. Shaking off the distracting thought, she focused on the matter at hand and recalled the pressure points she learned from that Enma-forsaken book last night. One purpose of the pressure points was birth control, the other multiple orgasms. Botan reasoned that Hiei would have no problem with birth control and opted to apply the multiple orgasm pressure points.

"Okay, Hiei, this will only take a moment…" She sat in front of Hiei, pressing a finger to the side of his neck, and massaged the spot with some of her spirit energy while peering at the bruise she gave him earlier that morning. Sure enough, she could distinguish teeth marks explicitly. Sighing, she continued applying the pressure points to keep up her guise.

Hiei remained shockingly quiet as she continued on to his ribs. In fact, he didn't protest until she reached a hand through the bottom of his "Jim shorts" and began feeling the inside of his thigh, her fingers steadily climbing higher…

A nervous twitch. "What are you doing, onna!"

An admonishing frown. "Be quiet, Hiei!" demanded the ferry girl brusquely, determined to complete her task quickly and painlessly. She was absolutely _not_ going to think perverted thoughts! "I just need two more!"

Both of them blushed profusely when her finger crept up his boxers and collided with the tip of Hiei Junior, causing the fire demon to jump and the ferry girl to gasp. She muttered a quiet apology as she found the pressure point on his inner hip.

Quickly, she sought out the last pressure point on the other hip. Botan felt somewhat guilty for gearing up Hiei more for an orgy than for a fight. "Alright, I'm done now."

Hiei grabbed his shirt and unraveled it. Before he slid it back on, Botan got another good look at her bite marks. They were as clear as day and worried her. Frowning, she summoned her oar. "I need to go now, Hiei. I'll see you during lunch, I guess."

Looking up, Hiei was about to respond when he saw the ferry girl leap onto her oar and rocket into the sky at alarming rates.

ooooo

"Yukina-chan!"

Botan found the Koorime in Genkai's gardens, tending to the colorful vegetation. Yukina found the ferry girl in the sky and noted the alarm in the her call. She watched as Botan dipped her oar forward and hurtled to the ground, landing next to her with practiced ease. "Botan-chan, are you okay?"

The ferry girl groaned helplessly. "I saw the mark. I could tell they were caused by teeth! _My_ teeth!"

Yukina nodded grimly. "Your teeth don't need to bite him too deeply, but if you could tell they were teeth marks…you two are likely mates now."

ooooo

Still on the grassy hill in the middle of the forest, Hiei was still sitting, but was no longer meditating. Instead, he was wondering, why does the ferry girl always come and go so suddenly? Why did she leave without letting him say goodbye?

He thought back to the times she tickled him, the time she measured him for his suit, the time that morning they had that naked tug-of-war over her bathrobe. Even the time before he fell under severe spiritual strain, when she saw Hiei Junior protruding from his boxers and he didn't even notice. Then again, that incident paled in comparison to the time immediately after their naked tug-of-war, when she smacked Hiei Junior mercilessly.

Although that particular incident caused him considerable pain, Hiei found himself smiling. He wouldn't admit it, but he was growing quite fond of that baka ferry onna.

He closed his eyes, feeling the gentle breeze play with his hair again as he took in a deep breathe of cool, brisk air, still smiling. "I must be like the only one to ever catch you off guard!" she had said. Little did she know, she was also the only one to ever make him smile so widely.

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

I don't know if I would consider this chapter as exciting as my others, but I enjoyed writing it. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9: Confessions

Guess who's back. Back again! McGrady's back. Tell a friend! LIVE, in high-definition, from McGrady and directly to all readers, here is the long-overdue chapter of Icha Icha! Consider this my Christmas present to all of you!

* * *

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Confessions**

-

-

Hiei rose well before dawn. It was the day he was to set off to Reikai in search of the monk who would oversee his efficiency rehabilitation. Donning his traditional black cloak, the fire demon emerged from the front entrance of Genkai's temple and stepped into the brisk dawn. He stood at the top of the stairway, a thin, dry wind sifting through his hair. The orange sun emerged from the smoky horizon.

Sensing a sudden yet familiar presence behind him, he smirked. The aura of his previous sensei was hard for Hiei to miss. Did his poor sensei honestly think he could just appear out of thin air and sneak up on the wielder of the Jagan eye? "Touya. What are you doing here in Ningenkai?"

The ice demon wasn't surprised that his former pupil sensed him so quickly. "Hiei. What are you doing here _still_ in Ningenkai?"

The fire demon's smirk widened. After two days of rest and meditation, his spirit energy was up to forty percent, more than enough to sense his former sensei appear a few meters behind him. Apparently, Touya was the escort that Yusuke arranged for Hiei.

"Thanks to that damned graduation exam," began Hiei, turning to glance at Touya over his shoulder, "I had to stay here for five full nights, recovering."

Quickly assessing Hiei's strength, Touya raised his eyebrows. He treaded past the fire demon and took the first step down the stone stairway. "After five nights, your spirit isn't even at half strength?"

Hiei followed alongside Touya down the stairs, his narrowed eyes on the steps under his feet. "I fell under severe spiritual strain," he said, his lower lip curling outwardly just a tad.

"Severe spiritual strain?" The ice demon thought back into his history with illnesses and disorders. Despite the condition's simple name, Touya couldn't say he heard of it. "How 'severe' was that?"

The fire demon shrugged. "I was unconscious for about twelve hours. When I woke up, I had less spirit energy than I did immediately after the graduation exam."

"That's it?" Touya chuckled. "And you got rid of your severe spiritual strain that quickly? You're just asleep for twelve hours, you wake, and you're fine?"

Hiei shrugged. "I suppose."

The ice demon scoffed. He turned to the sun over the morning horizon, which seemed to be chuckling with irony. "There's no need for the 'severe.' It aggrandizes its actual severity."

Squinting under the orange rays, Hiei nodded. "I think the cure was just a good night of sleep."

ooooo

As dawn's eye peered into her window, Botan woke. She felt the soft light on her face, but she kept her eyes shut, fighting for a few more moments of rest. Even if it was just one more moment, it was another moment in a bed. But not just any bed – this bed was the bed where she "cured" a certain fire demon. This is the bed where, in her most recent dream, she and said fire demon shared a special dance: a heated, sweaty, but wonderfully exotic and wholly consensual dance…

Pounding like a hurricane under her ribs, her heart brought the ferry girl out of the clouds and into a transient distress. Oh, no! She had another one of _those_ dreams! The deafening beat from her chest ringing through her ears, she subconsciously held her breath. The need to check if her underwear behaved and stayed dry over the night arose. Turning her face into the pillow beneath her, the ferry girl tentatively, almost fearfully, brushed her fingers over her panties, between her legs.

A little bit moist, but a considerable improvement over yesterday.

The dreadful pounding in her heart immediately ceased, and the ferry girl grinned in relief, in spite of her tired face. It was like her underwear knew that Hiei left early this morning, and was losing the urge to moisten itself in his sudden absence.

Deft fingers challenged the area of her bed sheets below her hips and rubbed it intrepidly, hunting for that depraved wetness. Eyelids that were glued shut for an entire night snapped open, revealing sleepy but excited pink eyes. The bed sheets were dry as fresh flour!

Finally! No more sexy homosexual fire demons with whom to heterosexually mingle in her dreams! No more wet spots on her bed sheets in the morning! No more moist panties! And most importantly: no more reminders of how she so shamelessly sold her virginity for nothing!

Botan rolled onto her back and sat up suddenly. The vacation she was on would end in a week or so, and she was anxious to get back to work. Back to work, to forget everything…

She felt like dancing. This called for ice cream with Keiko!

ooooo

When Hiei and Touya stepped out of the portal at the base of the stone stairway in Ningenkai, they found themselves in an open meadow, a bustling marketplace in the blazing Reikai sun on the horizon. Through the tall, dry grass, they began trudging toward the marketplace, knowing they would find out how to locate the monk there.

The sudden heat from the scorching sun made shedding his thick black cloak quite alluring to Hiei. Mentally shaking his head, Hiei reminded himself that his cloak was needed to shroud his swords, which would doubtlessly cause alarm in the marketplace and possibly attract the attention of the Reikai Protectors, the brutal Reikai intelligence and law enforcement, who were doubtlessly watching over them constantly. But what heat! It must have been twice as hot here in Reikai than it was back in Ningenkai.

Hiei took in a gulp of thick, sticky air, which slid down his desiccated throat like unrefined molasses. His bandana absorbed the salty sweat that collected on his brow. His tongue searched between dry teeth for saliva. The fire demon wished he was better prepared and drank more water before leaving.

"Wow, it sure is warm in Reikai!" exclaimed Touya. He slid off his outer layer. "Hiei, don't you feel warm? You're dressed head to toe in black."

"A burden I must carry without complaint," replied Hiei, his tongue flapping lifelessly in his arid mouth as he spoke. "Would you happen to have any water with you, Touya?"

"I'm afraid not. Are you thirsty?"

"No, I just felt like taking a bath."

Touya snickered, amused. "I'm sorry. The marketplace isn't too far."

Hiei groaned to himself. Sure, not too far off! The marketplace only looked to be as far away as the sun itself! The heat was getting to him, and even though he was a fire demon, he found himself wanting nothing but water and coolness. Beneath the heavy black cloak, his body was roasting like an oven. He needed to take his mind off his nagging thirst.

ooooo

"I'd like two small chocolate cones, please…thank you! Have a _beautiful_ day!"

With a smile, Botan handed one of the ice cream cones to Keiko and the two girls strolled down a wide, beige sandstone boulevard of a large but crowded city park. Keeping the air cool and energizing, fresh flowers, bushes, and trees brightened and colored the entire park, lining the boulevard. At consistent intervals, ornate lamp posts stood tall and proud over the walkways. A crowd gathered around an acoustic guitar ensemble performing in the open grass, where sweet, harmonic melodies filled the cool air. Under a merry sun, teenagers played soccer in the wide field behind the ice cream stand.

"What a _beautiful_ day!" exclaimed Botan, as if she had never witnessed such tranquility before in her life.

Her companion's mirth caused Keiko to giggle. "You're sure in a fine mood today. To what do we owe this occasion to?"

The fluffy ice cream could no longer wait. Botan's hungry tongue lapped at the chocolaty goodness before answering. "I think we should take a seat," she said between licks. "I have quite a story to share!"

Licking her ice cream cone as well, Keiko followed the ferry girl to a bench next to the ice cream stand, on the side of the boulevard. As the girls sat and enjoyed their ice cream, the crowd by the acoustic guitar ensemble applauded. A little boy, sitting on the bench opposite of the girls, dropped bits of white bread on the boulevard, feeding the young, bold pigeons.

Botan daintily patted a napkin against her lips. "Where to begin?"

Keiko glanced overhead to the trees towering above the boulevard, providing calm shade to everyone on the sandstone walkway. "Does your story involve Reikai? Koenma?"

Giggling, Botan shook her head. "It actually involves…Hiei!"

"What! Hiei!" Keiko's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What happened?"

The ferry girl thought back to where this whole messy situation started, when both her and Keiko drew together a list of reasons Hiei was gay. "Keiko-chan, do you remember Stick Hiei?"

Keiko snorted in a not-so-ladylike fashion.

Botan grinned at the memory of the goofy drawing. Stick Hiei still lay in the guestroom she was staying at in Genkai's temple. "Well, that night when I drew him, Hiei came back from his training. We had a feast at Genkai's to celebrate. Remember?"

"Mm! Yukina-chan's pork was amazing!"

"Yup! You remember how Hiei had to leave early?"

"I think Kurama said something about Hiei being too worn out to stay for the entire dinner."

Botan nodded. "Hiei's spirit was low. He needed to go to bed early that night to start recovering." A drop of chocolate slid down her crunchy waffle cone. Botan paused to lick it before it got to her finger. "However, before he fell asleep, I had to get his measurements so Reikai staff could tailor a suit for him by the next morning. He had a diplomatic mission the next day and he had to wear a suit to blend in with the people of Tokyo."

Keiko nodded, sucking on the top of her ice cream. "I remember that mission. Yusuke came back home with his suit completely ruined."

"Yeah…the mission didn't turn out as well as expected. Well before they left for that mission, that night Hiei returned and left dinner early, I had to measure him. So I knock on his door and I say, 'Hey, Hiei, I need to take your measurements for your suit.' Then, Hiei says, 'Baka onna, I'm _too good_ to wear a suit!' We negotiate for a bit before he finally gives in, even though he still calls me 'baka onna' and whatnot."

Rolling her eyes knowingly and grinning, Keiko crunched into her cone. "Is he also _too good_ to call you by your name?"

Indignantly, Botan huffed. She viciously bit at her ice cream. "I guess so! I mean, I'm just _so_ inferior to him that he can simply call me 'onna'!" The ferry girl took another vicious bite out of her cone, shook her head furiously. Shortly afterwards, her hair began to settle, and she continued. "Well, when I measured Hiei-no-baka, he was in his underwear. At first, he seemed like he was really uncomfortable being around me when he was only wearing his boxers. It took me a while, but after some…" Botan grinned slyly. "…_persuasion_, I finally got him to crawl out of hiding!"

"Botan-chan!" Keiko's eyes lit with warning. "You flirted with him!"

ooooo

To be frank, the heat was starting to piss Hiei off. He was sick of the grimy layer of sweat glazed over his skin but trapped beneath his heavy clothing. He was sick of the dry grass gazing his knees. He was sick of the small insects that jumped around him and produced that incessant buzz, of the awful feeling of unquenched thirst deep in his mouth, of the repugnant stench of decaying matter beneath their feet, of the spots the sun created when he looked up to the still far off marketplace.

Needless to say, Hiei wasn't a happy camper.

"Touya, this is _unbearable_!" he croaked. He tugged at the collar of his heavy black cloak.

One of the ice demon's eyebrows rose at the sudden vigor in the fire demon's coarse call. "Hm?"

"We keep on walking and walking and _walking_, but the marketplace is still so far away! Why didn't Yusuke make the portal take us directly there?" Hiei silently cursed Yusuke.

Touya shrugged. He enjoyed being able to shed his layers and didn't wish that he was in Hiei's place.

Hiei cast his companion an envious glare. How dare Touya look so nonchalant? How dare Touya look so _comfortable _in this heat! Here Hiei was, baking like a biscuit, and there Touya was, prancing under the hot Reikai sun like he does it every day. The audacity! Touya must pay!

The fire demon summoned the mightiest glare he could. "Ask me a question!"

Touya's other eyebrow rose, meeting with the first. What an odd request. "What kind of question?"

"Any kind! Whatever question you want to ask, and I'll answer it! I just need to forget about this heat!"

Touya nodded understandingly. The sun was indeed merciless. The humid air didn't help at all. Yet, somehow he felt that he wasn't minding the warmth as much as Hiei was. "Will you," began Touya, contemplatively, "give me a complete, accurate, and unembellished answer?"

Hiei huffed with impatience. He was _so_ thirsty, and Touya must help! "YES!" he groaned.

Touya grinned. He was the cat who just caught the mouse. "Alright, Hiei." He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and met the fire demon's challenging eyes. "That girl. You mentioned that you were…oh, how did you put it?"

The challenging fire in them dissipating, the intense crimson eyes were invaded by uncharacteristic fear.

Touya resisted the urge to laugh like a villain. He knew that he had successfully made Hiei forget about the heat and could see the delicious apprehension quenching Hiei's thirst. "Oh, that's right. You said you were 'interested' in her." Touya's smirk looked suspiciously like Hiei's. "Tell me, how do you _really_ feel about that girl?"

ooooo

Botan almost dropped her ice cream. Flirt with Hiei? "No I didn't!" she responded promptly, her facing heating up. "I swear!"

"Botan, I know you!" Keiko pointed at her blue-haired companion. "If you were trying to 'persuade' any guy who you thought was both dangerous and attractive, you would be flirting with him! You said yourself that you thought Hiei was attractively dangerous AND dangerously attractive!"

The ferry girl's ice cream was dribbling on her fingers, but she didn't notice. Her cheeks were rapidly coloring. "But…Hiei…gay..." Finally, Botan put a clamp to her stuttering mouth and looked as though she recomposed herself. She straightened her back against the park bench. "He may be as masculine as fire demons get, but as far as we know, he's just a flowery little fruitcake! And I didn't say 'attractive,' I said 'not ugly'!"

"I know that! But you still called him 'attractive' later, and you STILL flirted with a gay man!"

Botan opened her mouth to retort, but caught herself. Breathing deeply, she tried to calm her palpitating heart. "Yes, he _is_ gay, and okay, _maybe_ I was flirting. _However_, he was _inarguably_ flirting back!" The sound of applause from the crowd around the acoustic guitar ensemble rose from behind them, seeming to support Botan's case.

Would a gay man really flirt with Botan? Smugly, Keiko cocked an eyebrow. The crowd's applause halted weakly, as if in timid response to the brunette's challenging skepticism.

Suddenly noticing the chocolate ice cream over her fingers, Botan hastily wiped her hand with the napkin in her free hand. "Well…" The ferry girl realized that she was going down a losing path. She went back to her main point. "…Well, anyway!"

Botan's sudden show of confidence caused Keiko to break into a genuine grin. "Anyway…"

"Yes, anyway. We flirted with each other, despite his staggering gayness. He was in is boxers, right? Well, that meant that his stomach was exposed. I had to measure his waist, and when I did, my hands touched his stomach. The instant I touch his stomach – by _accident_, mind you! – he's on the ground, rolled up in the fetal position!"

Keiko's eyes were wide. "NO WAY! Is Hiei–"

"–Yes! Hiei's TICKLISH!" squealed Botan. She took a dainty nibble at her cone. "And let's not forget: although he's gay, he's quite sexy. So, before I left his room to let him sleep, I told myself, 'Why not, I'll allow myself a selfish moment.' Hiei was in bed, trying to go to sleep, and that's when I pounced!"

"Botan-chan, you _pounced_ Hiei? _Pounced_?"

"Yup!" The ferry girl's voice was steadily climbing in pitch. Her pink eyes lit with a jubilant shine. "I exerted his only weakness and tickled him as if he were a child!"

The brunette giggled uncontrollably at the thought of the supposedly inferior ferry girl tickling the supposedly superior fire demon. "You must have enjoyed the feeling of a man at your control."

Botan sighed wistfully. "Ah! I _did_ enjoy the feeling! Almost as much as I enjoyed the _actual_ feeling of Hiei's skin! Oh, Keiko, it's so soft and smooth and you can feel the solid muscle underneath and–"

Suddenly, Botan's hand went up to cover her mouth. Again. Keiko cocked her eyebrow challengingly. Again.

Beneath her hand, the ferry girl's face was rapidly blushing. "I'm sorry, Keiko-chan," she mumbled, hand still on mouth, "I got carried away."

Keiko inspected the remains of her ice cream cone. "Botan-chan, I suspect you share a not-very-platonic relationship with Hiei-san."

Terms like "not-very-platonic" and "relationship" made Botan's eye twitch. She admitted to herself ever since she "cured" Hiei that she definitely viewed the fire demon in a "not-very-platonic" way, but they definitely were far from having any kind of relationship other than the kind between a very innocent, modest, and falsely accused schoolgirl and a very rude, condescending, and ethnocentric schoolboy.

Botan tossed the last bit of her ice cream cone into her mouth. "Hiei and I share no quality relationship," she declared. "But I did realized a while ago that he's smoking and that I want his body."

Keiko was just about to finish off her cone when Botan uttered this latest confession. Her arm paused in mid-swing toward her mouth, her lips open, her eyes blank. Deflating, Keiko dropped her arm, closed her mouth, and shut her eyes. She smacked a palm to her forehead. Botan just gave her way too much information! "I think…maybe we should get back to the story."

"Heh…" Botan grinned sheepishly. "Okay, so after I destroyed him using his weakness, I just left before he could do anything about it. There was no retaliation, or death threats, or anything! That's when I came back down for dinner. I think the moment when I first tickled Hiei was the instance in my lifetime when my self-confidence was highest."

"You know, Botan-chan, I remember that when you came back, you had the dopiest grin I've ever seen. Your eyes were also a little bit…evil-looking."

"Evil-looking?"

"Yup!" Finally, Keiko finished the remains of her ice cream cone. She crunched on the crispy waffle. "You looked like a cat that just caught a mouse."

"I wish," began Botan, no longer grinning, "I had that kind of confidence the next morning…"

Keiko's eyebrows rose. She sensed something good coming up! "Oh? What happened then?"

An incessant blush invaded the ferry girl's face. "The next morning. By then, Reikai tailored his suit and had it delivered back to me to give to Hiei, right?"

Keiko nodded.

Botan stared down at the beige sandstones beneath her. "So I go to Hiei's room in the morning with his suit. This was the day when he, Yusuke, and Kurama left for the mission in Tokyo. I knock on his door, and I say, 'Hiei, I've got your suit.' Hiei opens the door, and he's still wearing only his boxers, right?"

Keiko nodded.

Curses! Botan's nipples rebelled against her will and hardened against her bra at the memory of the tired fire demon that morning, or more specifically, at the excited bit of the tired fire demon. Her loins, although still dry, were beginning to heat up, as well as her cheeks. All of a sudden, her bra felt too small for her. "Well, his…his–his…I saw his…"

The brunette blinked. Did Botan complete her sentence? "I'm sorry, Botan-chan, I didn't get that last bit. What'd you say?"

Distraught, the ferry girl scanned her surroundings, as if making sure no one else was listening. She leaned closer to the brunette. "I…I saw his…"

Keiko still didn't catch it. She leaned closer to the ferry girl, turning her ear toward her. "Can you repeat–"

"–I SAW HIS PENIS!" Botan shrieked hysterically, her hair slightly disheveled, her hands jumping up to her face.

ooooo

"You know which girl I'm talking about, Hiei. That ferry woman."

The fire demon's jaw fell. "You're not _seriously­­_–"

"–_Yes_, I'm _seriously_ asking this! And I'm _seriously_ expecting a complete, accurate, and unembellished answer!"

Before Hiei could retort, Touya reminded him, "You told me that you'd answer any question I'd ask, and I don't expect Hiei Jaganshi to break his never-broken word."

Eye twitching, Hiei couldn't conceive how Touya dared to use his integrity against him. Much like how cartoon figures, when famished, began confusing their companions as walking chicken legs or hot dogs, the aggravated Hiei began confusing Touya for a Popsicle. A Popsicle that must be torn apart for its insolence and eaten.

Ignoring the spots the sun threw into his eyes, Hiei stared off at the distant marketplace, which actually _did_ seem to be getting closer, albeit barely. Whatever, as long as it will help pass the time. Hiei was famous for his word, but he was also famous for his frank curtness.

"I think I'm in love with her."

ooooo

Keiko's eyes widened. Did Botan _really_ just shout "I saw his penis" at the top of her lungs?

Little did the girls know, the entire crowd around the acoustic guitar ensemble heard Botan's raucous interjection. From the guitar group, they turned around to gape at the blue haired girl who was shamefully burying her face in her hands. Next to her, a brunette pulled the blue haired girl into a hug, sympathizing, spewing a stream of soft, mollifying words.

Patting the ferry girl's back, Keiko cooed, "There, there, Botan-chan, I'm sure it's not that bad!"

Still shaken, Botan replied, "No, no, no, it wasn't bad at all! There was nothing wrong about his penis. This is just when I figured out how big…how thick…"

Still appearing frantic, the ferry girl chuckled darkly, as if intoxicated. She continued, "Hiei looked like he had just gotten out of bed, and he had this…_massive_ erection popping out of the front hole in his boxers. Hiei is hot enough wearing his underwear, but with a sign of being aroused…" Botan tugged at her hair as if she were crazy. "I couldn't take it!" she exclaimed. "I handed him the suit and ran away as quickly as I could!"

Keiko suddenly noticed the strange absence of the sounds of acoustic guitars and the crowd. She looked over her shoulder to find a crowd of ningens, either disgusted, disbelieving, or laughing, all gaping at her and the ferry girl. The members of the guitar ensemble itself even stopped to see what stole their crowd's interest.

Keiko flashed them a dirty glare until the crowd turned around and the guitar ensemble resumed playing. Facing Botan again, she asked, "Okay, what happened next?" Although she knew Botan was stressing at the moment, Keiko was now much more interested in the ferry girl's story.

Shuddering just a bit more, Botan gulped a breath of cool air. She didn't even notice the attention she garnered from the crowd or the guitar ensemble. She patted at her hair, trying to undo the damage she did to her pony tail. "Well," she said, "I guess there's no point in denying that I wish Hiei were straight, huh?"

Keiko nodded slowly, not as if agreeing with Botan, but as if urging her to continue.

By now, Botan was more collected. "After that morning, I began having problems sleeping. Not problems _falling_ asleep, but problems _during_ sleep. I started having these…_awful_…but absolutely _wonderful_ dreams! I dreamed of me and Hiei…"

The brunette gasped. It wasn't necessary for the ferry girl to finish her sentence. "You began having dreams of you and him _doing_ _it_?"

If there was ever a face that spoke volumes of sadness and happiness at the same time, Botan was wearing it at this exact instance. "The first time I went to bed after I saw his penis, I didn't know I'd have the dreams." She paused as Keiko gave her a strange look. "Heh, well I guess that was obvious, huh?"

Keiko brushed it off. "What happened next, what happened next!"

"Um…well, after my first dream, I woke up to find this…" Botan stopped to position her hands as if she were holding a softball. "…this wet spot, about this big, on my bed sheets."

Keiko started giggling.

"But that's not all, Keiko-chan! My underwear was even wetter!"

Keiko was now all laughs.

The brunette's gaiety being contagious, Botan began smiling, too. "And that's the day when they came back from their mission. They were successful, I think, but it was messy." The ferry girl's smile started to wane at what she recalled happened next. "Hiei had too little spirit energy after completing the Dalin graduation exam, and he overexerted himself on the mission. When they came back, he was unconscious. He had this thing called 'severe spiritual strain,' a consequence of using too much spirit energy. Yukina said that I was the only one who could cure him."

Suddenly, Keiko was no longer laughing. Her eyes lit with a hungry fire. So Botan was the _only _one who could cure Hiei? This seemed to be going down an interesting path! Will this go the way she was expecting? She wanted to know what happened next! "Did you cure him?"

"Well…" Botan was now choosing her words very carefully. "…yes I cured him." The ferry girl began blushing again. "But I also did more than just cure him."

ooooo

"I think I'm in love with her."

WHAT! Did Hiei just say what Touya thought he said? Touya blinked, smacked his forehead, and looked at Hiei again. "Pardon me, but do you think you can repeat that? I didn't catch you the first time."

Hiei glared at his former sensei. "You heard me the first time!" The fire demon's ordinarily solid eyes were unable to meet Touya's for too long. His angry gaze dropped to the long, dry grass before them.

Touya mentally shook himself. He didn't expect Hiei to be so open about this! "So, Hiei…why are you in love with her?"

In spite of himself, the fire demon began to grin, although barely. "I'm not really sure myself. But I know I can't stop thinking of her."

The ice demon's eyebrows wiggled mischievously. "Oh, you can't stop thinking of her?" he said slyly, suggestively, perversely.

Hiei was completely oblivious to Touya's break dancing brows. "I can't!" he affirmed. In fact, Hiei now didn't even notice his thirst. He seemed to be up in the clouds. "I think she's perfect."

She's perfect? Even Touya's girlfriend wasn't perfect! "You mean she doesn't have any faults? No drawbacks?"

The fire demon shook his head reassuringly. "She definitely has her share of faults."

Touya was now starting to become uneasy, not because of Hiei's aberrant optimism, but because of Hiei's aberrant smile. He was _smiling_, not smirking. His eyes for once held no malice, no mistrust. Only pure joy.

Even Hiei's voice seemed to be different. "She talks too much. Although it's too much for herself, she talks just enough for the both of us."

Touya was wondering what happened to the angry fire demon he grew to love. What happened to Hiei!

"Also," continued Hiei, "she's extremely loyal to her employer, Koenma, King Enma's son. This is incredibly annoying," he said, although his caring tone convinced Touya that Hiei thought otherwise, "but I think it shows strength."

Smacking his forehead, Touya motioned for Hiei to discontinue. It seemed as though Hiei loved this girl for her faults. In that case… "So, Hiei, what are her good qualities?"

Hiei's smile widened even more, showing white teeth underneath and further disquieting Touya's conscience. "She's so optimistic! At first, I didn't like that side of her at all – I might even go as far to say I disliked her because of it – but I really admire that quality now. Oh, and no matter where she is, she always seems to make more friends. She's just someone who you cannot _not_ like!"

The sudden change in Hiei confused Touya. Instead of grumbling like an irritated demon, Hiei spoke like a poetic romantic. "Hiei, you're really in love, aren't you?"

Smiling even more widely, Hiei shut his eyes in bliss and folded his arms behind his head. "I think so! I really _hope_ so! Touya, I didn't even get to how she looks! I can't describe how beautiful she is! She looks so delicate…"

Hiei's words began to sail into both of Touya's ears and further convolute his brain. Touya groaned. He asked Hiei how he truly felt about this girl to make the fire demon feel uncomfortable. Now, he was regretting it.

ooooo

"You did more than just cure him," repeated Keiko slowly but patiently. "What do you mean by that?"

Botan sighed helplessly. "Let me put it this way. Yukina gave me a book that would show me how to cure him. The words 'comprehensive guide to sexual healing' were on the cover."

Keiko's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She was in pure shock, but at the same time, she anticipated Botan leaning in this direction. "You mean…you and Hiei…" she said, trying to manipulate the conversation in the correct way. "_You_ and _Hiei_…Hiei, who is gay…"

The ferry girl buried her face in her knees. Suddenly, the beautiful day she was sitting in didn't seem as beautiful to her.

The brunette took that as a "yes, I screwed the brains out of him and I can't believe I slept with a gay man."

"He doesn't even know," Botan mumbled in her knees. "I was saving myself for someone I would spend the rest of my life with and start a family with! And I gave Hiei my virginity and Hiei…" The ferry girl looked back up to the brunette. Thick, salty tears laced her eyes and trailed down her cheeks. "Hiei doesn't even know!"

Temporarily setting aside her desire to cajole more information from Botan, Keiko wrapped a comforting arm around her friend's shoulders. "There, there now." She felt obligated to make Botan feel better, but at the same time, she wanted to know more of the story, now more than ever. The desire to cajole returned promptly. "So…" How would she show that she wants to hear more without being rude? "…he _still_ doesn't know?"

Botan let out something between a sob and a laugh. "No." Her eyes were red and puffy. "No, I don't think so. But I want to tell him _so much_! And I want to tell him…"

Keiko flinched. She shouldn't have pushed Botan! Now, she's going to break out about her virginity…

The ferry girl, with her face still in her knees, shuddered. "…I want to tell him how _horny_ he makes me!"

ooooo

By the time Hiei had fallen from the clouds of his fantasies, Touya had learned much of how the fire demon felt of the ferry girl. Hiei made it clear that although he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the three worlds, he felt he wasn't fit to touch her as he had in his dreams. He also remarked that her purity rivaled that of an angle, which she is only one step below as a deity of death.

The way in which Hiei portrayed his blissful though surely one-sided devotion was embarrassing. He was as masculine as fire demons got, but he spoke, skipped, sang, and danced like a flowery little fruitcake. Touya oftentimes had to restrain himself from laughing at his uncharacteristically oblivious companion.

Additionally, there were even future plans. Hiei dreamed of starting a family with her, and having kids. He dreamed of the two getting old together and watching their children grow. Surprisingly, he wanted a daughter.

Hiei had so much to say about his love, that with the time it took him to elaborate his feelings and dreams, the demon pair had finally arrived in the marketplace and were ordering well-deserved drinks at a local refreshment stand. Both Hiei and Touya found a seat by a small table near the refreshment stand, on the main boulevard of the marketplace.

The fire demon gave a ragged moan when his throat was finally graced by the cool water. He glared admonishingly at Touya. "To repeat any of what I recently disclosed is to die!"

Humoring Hiei, Touya raised his hands defensively and nodded. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Touya was actually glad the real Hiei had returned.

The two simultaneously took long swigs of their tall glasses, set the glasses down with a thud, and wiped their mouths with the backs of their hands. "So Hiei," pursued Touya, "are you making a move?"

Hiei gave Touya an estranged look and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you kidding?"

Touya gestured the negative.

A sigh. "Don't you remember, Touya?" Hiei thought back to when they first discussed the ferry girl, back when the two traversed from Dalin Temple to Genkai's residence. Not making eye contact with Touya, Hiei propped his head on one of his arms. "I have no chance."

"What do you mean? You didn't even try yet!"

"Yes, I did! I just made a fool of myself every time!"

"What!" exclaimed Touya, jumping, almost knocking over their table and drawing attention. "You _did _make a move? What did you do?"

Hiei sharply took in air, as if suddenly burned, and winced. He clearly didn't want to talk about it.

The eager ice demon waved off the disquieted fire demon's apparent misfortunes. "Hiei, just give it time," he said with assurance. "You need to be around her more. You need to open up to her."

"I've tried being around her," groaned Hiei, "and it didn't work. She would just give me a weird expression, turn red, look around to see if anyone was watching us, and run away."

Rubbing his chin, Touya said, "Yeah, that's definitely not a good sign. From what you've told me, I think we can safely say she turned red out of embarrassment."

"Yeah." Hiei took another gulp of his drink. "After all, she wouldn't _blush_ around me."

ooooo

"…I want to tell him how _horny_ he makes me!"

WHAT! Keiko almost fell off the bench.

Botan faced Keiko, but her eyes were closed. Her face was still tear-ridden, but was rapidly blushing. "Oh, I'm such a shameless pervert!" she sobbed. "Absolutely _shameless_!"

"Botan, Botan! Don't call yourself that, you know it's not true!"

"Whether or not it's true, it doesn't matter – it won't change the fact that we're mates!"

Had Keiko not finished her ice cream cone, she would have dropped it. "You two…mates? _Mates_?"

"Yeah, mates! We're tied together for life, and he doesn't know that either! What's he going to think when he finally finds out?"

"Botan, you mean you didn't tell him!"

The ferry girl wiped her face. "I approached him with the intent on telling him a few times. I also intended on telling him when he approached me a few times, too. Every time, I completely forgot my intentions and started thinking about his body. And I would get all sweaty and hot and horny…"

Keiko's eyes went wide, for the umpteenth time that day. Keiko was shocked by how attracted the ferry girl was to the fire demon's sex appeal.

"I don't know if I want Hiei to find out about how we're mates," said Botan. "Out of all the women he's slept with, I'm probably the one he detests the most. I'm probably the weakest. I'm probably also the ugliest." Interestingly, Botan's eyes were dry. It was as if they ran out of tears to shed. "He doesn't want me to be his mate."

"But do you want him to be your mate?"

Botan sharply took in air, as if suddenly burned, and winced. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.

Keiko cringed slightly. "Bad situation, huh?"

Botan nodded. "If anyone in Reikai knew that me and a demon were mates…" She shook her head, not wanting to fathom the consequences. "No one will even care that Hiei's one of the strongest in the three worlds! He's a demon! Deities like me are supposed to marry high-ranking Reikai Protectors! And furthermore, as much as he wouldn't want to be my mate, I don't think I want to be his mate." Botan sighed. She couldn't believe the situation she was in.

"I only want him for sex."

ooooo

Hiei and Touya left the table shortly to get refills from the refreshment stand. When they returned, Hiei was once again threatening Touya, while Touya played along. "Touya, if you tell _anyone_ how much of a lunatic I was when I was speaking of the ferry onna, I will–"

"–rip out my precious voice box, yeah, yeah. I've heard that one a million times, Hiei."

"Hn!" Hiei had the suspicion that his threats were losing substance.

Touya took another sip of his drink. "Listen, Hiei, don't worry about it! You're going to subconsciously feel freer around those you're comfortable with. It's natural."

Hiei twisted in his seat. "I personally can't believe I behaved like that! Since when did I know how to skip? Or sing?"

In spite of himself, Touya grinned at the memory of Hiei's recent lunacy. "I don't know," he replied, shrugging, "but you're always going to be a bit out of character when you're around those you're comfortable with. Like I just said, it's natural. Everyone does it."

Although Hiei was still clearly perturbed, his shoulders visibly relaxed, though slightly.

Touya leaned across the table and lowered his voice to a whisper. "You'll even do that around your love interest when you to become close!" Touya twisted his pointer and middle fingers. "Close, like this!"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Touya, I've never been close to any woman. How can you expect that I can become close to this one?"

Touya's eyebrows rose. "You're even more of a virgin than I thought." A pause. "I'm about to ask you a personal question, so feel free not to respond. Have you ever kissed a girl?"

Hiei snorted. "No."

"Been kissed by a girl?"

"No."

"Held hands with a girl?"

"No."

"Um…hugged…a girl?"

"Do I need to answer? Touya, you said it yourself – I'm 100 percent virgin."

Touya shook his head with pity. "A shame."

"It may be a shame," began Hiei, pausing to take another sip of his water, "but it's a necessary shame."

"Really? What do you mean?"

"If it were otherwise, I wouldn't be able to train with this Reikai monk. His methods are effectual only for virgins."

ooooo

-

-

-

* * *

YES!! Fourteen paged chapter, presented to you guys in high-definition, from McGrady, and directly to all readers! To all you great reviewers out there, THANK YOU! 

This chapter serves several additional purposes: 1.) to recap on what happened so far in this story, 2.) to shed light on how bizarre the relationship between Hiei and Botan is, and finally 3.) to explain the OOCness in the first chapter.

Please review!  



	10. Chapter 10: Reflections

I really (and I mean really) struggled with an approach for this chapter, but I finally decided that diary format would be the most appropriate.

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Reflections**

-

-

August 11, past dusk

Imperial Hotel in Reikai's Ivy Square

Clear skies

First page of another journal. I can't let Touya know that I, Hiei Jaganshi, keep a journal, or he'll never let me forget. My reputation will suffer and I can't have that.

As my personal customs dictate, I always reintroduce myself to every new journal I start. My name is Hiei Jaganshi. I have a twin sister, Yukina. She doesn't know that I'm her brother, but that's for the best. For a living, I am a warrior. I like fried dumplings, Yukina's Chinese roast pork, steamed watercress and baby bok choy, spicy shrimp ramen, jasmine rice, wonton soup, and mango juice.

Currently, I'm on a mission to regain strength that I lost during what I like to call "body reconstruction." As a warrior, the strength of my body is what dictates my worth. Being in a sub-perfect state is not good.

To regain my strength, I seek some monk in Reikai, which is why I'm here right now. I'd never admit it, but Koenma was kind to send me an escort, and even kinder to send Touya. The monk's name is Kiyosaki, I believe. I fended off some no name gang of bandits in Makai when they tried to mug Kiyosaki. The old monk was wounded, so I treated him. He's nearing the end of his life right now, and he insists he is indebted to me. He's going to work with me to regain my strength using some antiquated but time proven methods his temple perfected.

Hopefully, I can find him soon, and Touya won't find this journal.

ooooo

August 12, noon

Ramen shop on the central walking streets of Reikai

Sunny and windless

Touya went to find a bathroom. He's been farting a lot just now, so he's definitely giving me enough time for another entry.

Dreamed last night that I started a family with a Reikai deity, a ferry girl. We lived in Reikai as simple merchants. We had three small kids, two older girls and a younger boy. The older of the girls looked almost exactly like Botan. The younger looked like me. They had their little ferry oars and flew around are home. They played, giggled, and smiled. The boy was a toddler; he could barely walk and could hardly talk. His hair was baby blue. For some reason, I was cooking. I'm not very good at cooking. But Botan was helping me, and we laughed and kissed each other lovingly.

I'm embarrassed to say that I'm infinitely more willing to wrap my fingers around Botan's hand than around the hilt of my bloodied sword. I'm fairly sure I'm in love. But she doesn't have a clue, and this will go with me to the grave if it's in her best interest.

It's obviously in my best interest. I'm in the bingo books and wanted lists of almost every major underground organization in Makai, and they'd probably find a way to kill me if they knew of my love for her. They'd kill her in the process. As the greatest war minds said, when attacking an enemy, first attack his heart. I've seen death, have caused death, and have prevented death. But the thought of Botan's death makes my heart twist.

Though her name is Botan, I never call her that. Have to keep the mask, you know? I call her "onna": impersonal, professional, condescending. The essences of my mask.

I'd like to call her Botan like her friends do.

Damned Touya. I told him that I loved her a while ago. Bad mistake. He gives me pick up lines and advice. I roll my eyes, tell him to shove off, but secretly race to engrave his words into my mind before I forget. He tries to get me to talk about her because he knows I'll begin revealing much more than I'd like to reveal.

We both ordered extra large bowls of spicy shrimp ramen. The kind chef just slid both bowls in front of me. I flirted with the thought of pouring more hot sauce in Touya's bowl, but decided against it. I know I'll regret this decision in the near future.

ooooo

August 13, dusk

Top and Pop's Motel, Reikai

Cloudy

Touya's been trying to wheedle me all day into discussing Botan. I was having another dream about her, this one having nothing to do with the warm home we could get if she noticed me, or the smiling children we could have if she noticed me, or the happy dinners we could prepare if she noticed me. In short, we were being intimate. Touya insists that I said certain things in my sleep that I'd never say awake, my lips maneuvered in a way that wasn't suggesting eating, and a certain body part of mine stood erect (literally).

I wonder if Botan can actually bend her back like she did in my dream.

Around noon, we passed a ferry deity I recognized as one of Botan's closest friends. She had her hand laced in a Reikai Protector's arm. I hope that Botan's not expecting to end up with a Reikai Protector, all chivalrous, strong, and justifying. Their muscles are huge, their physiques huge, their broadswords huge. Does Botan want a man with muscles that big? I look at myself in the tall mirror in my room, and for the first time in my life, I truly felt physically inadequate and ashamed. Although I'm not fat, I'm far from being as muscular as those Reikai Protectors. I'm skinny as a twig compared to Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara, but compared to the Reikai Protector...

I'm just thinking wishfully. In front of the tall mirror, I hold out my arm, as if offering it to Botan whom I imagined was standing beside me. I stare back into the mirror, try to smile warmly, and imagine that Botan clutches my elbow with both hands.

I see nothing but myself, alone.

ooooo

August 14, afternoon

Central Valley, Reikai. Room they gave me.

Cloudy

We found Kiyosaki, the monk. Touya left, not without giving me last minute tips on how I can win over Botan. The monk greeted me warmly, along with his disciples. It appears that Kiyosaki spread the news around his temple of my efforts to save him. The people here revere me. The attention I get here is nice and appreciated.

Kiyosaki insisted that I rest until tomorrow. So I ran sprints up and down the slopes of the valley, got a pair of younger monks to sit on my back as I did pushups, and swam some laps in the lake they have down here. Caught a fish when I finished swimming and thought about eating it, but threw it back. I didn't think Botan would approve. She makes me soft and she doesn't even know it.

ooooo

August 15, dawn

Central Valley, Reikai. My room.

Sunny, dry, still

Another dream. We had sex in Reikai Palace, in Koenma's office, on his desk.

Sometimes, I can't help but to feel ashamed of the way I think about Botan. The real Botan wouldn't be a pervert, unlike the Botan I yearn for in my dreams. I don't love Botan any less for not being a lecher, but at the same time, I'd like to act out my dreams with her one day. Of course, there's no way that'd ever happen. Botan would never strip both of us, lay me down on my back, wrap herself on top of me, or bite the base of my neck to muffle a scream.

However, it's a good thing that we've never done anything of the sort. Or rather, it's a good thing I've never done anything of the sort. I don't know why the monks' methods only work with virgins, but I'm not complaining.

ooooo

August 15, dusk

Central Valley, Reikai. My room.

Clear and cool

Two entries in the same day! Journal, I hope you're ready for a double dose of my life!

We began training me today. I learned that Kiyosaki was the leading figure in this temple, and that by saving him and whatever he was carrying back in Makai, I saved the entire temple's being. All the monks sat in a circle around me and meditated, all in the same stance. I too adopted the stance and closed my eyes. They all hummed at harmoniously, deeply. The feeling of all the monks channeling their energy to me and hearing their ubiquitous hum made my head spin.

We did other things, too. Various drills to test my agility. Some strange potions. Reflex tests.

In the evening, after dinner, Kiyosaki insisted that I should feel some results immediately. I sparred with a younger monk bare handed. Although I was holding back and didn't have a problem with him, I felt absolutely no improvement. Zero.

When I told Kiyosaki this, he was disappointed, as if he let me down. I insisted that I didn't mind. It was only the first day, after all.

ooooo

August 22, dusk

Central Valley, Reikai. My room.

Soft rain and wind

A full week of intensive training and rehabilitation. So time consuming that I didn't even have time to write another entry. Sorry, journal.

Although I've been here a full week, still no results. We're all frustrated now, and we don't know what's going on. Kiyosaki says he'll run more tests tomorrow to find out the problem. Although he's only a small old monk, Kiyosaki is a pretty smart guy. Wish I got to know him and his disciples earlier.

ooooo

August 23, noon

Central Valley, Reikai. In the courtyard.

Cloudy, still, very wet.

We just finished the test and a casual interview with the head medical monk. Don't remember his name. Okay guy, I guess. His fingernails looked like they were made of wood. He smelled like ancient musk. Funny voice, that guy has.

"Are you sure you're not a virgin?" croaked the medical monk multiple time, each time more insistent than the last. I matched his crescendo with my own kind affirmation. He invariably matched me reply with an eyebrow raise.

How would he know better than me if I were a virgin? If I had sex, I would know it. It's not like someone would come up to me in my sleep and take my virginity while I'm unconscious. That's asinine. But the medical monk thought otherwise. He knew something I didn't, and was holding it back.

I'm sitting in a tree right now, just before lunch. I have the rest of the day off, and this time I'm actually going to rest. While I know my virginity isn't the issue, I wonder whether all the blood I shed in my life affects the rehabilitation process.

ooooo

August 23, evening

Central Valley, Reikai. Library.

I'm not really sure what the weather is. No windows in this library. Sunny, maybe?

Just read an article about the social stratification of Ningenkai. Interesting how ningens climb and descend the social ladder depending on their education. More education is better for them. No wonder you will only find obese, balding weaklings at the top of the food chain in Ningenkai; the ability to talk with your fists is nullified with modern ningen laws.

For ningens who seek more education, they must attend many years of various educational institutions. I personally find it unwise for the majority of these institutes to judge a ningen's worth based solely on his grade point average, class rank, and standardized test scores. Obviously, this in an insufficient way to measure a ningen's competence. Do these standardized exams test leadership or responsibility? Do ningen educational institutions teach teamwork, time management, or organization? Do grade point averages measure punctuality and reliability?

Pathetic. I find more and more reasons to frown upon the ningen race, but every time I look down my nose upon them, I remember Botan's chastising voice and her cold, hard face upon me. Suddenly, it's me who is being looked down upon.

ooooo

August 24, morning

Central Valley, Reikai. In the mess hall.

Sunny, warm, cloudless, windless

I feel like headbutting a boulder. Just heard my test results.

Let's rewind a bit.

I woke up this morning, ate breakfast with the disciples, we have a good time. Kiyosaki, the medical monk, and other old monks who, I learned recently, are temple elders. They sat me down and informed me that I am, in fact, not a virgin.

I am silent for a while. Surely, they jest.

Oh, but I was mistaken. The test results are positive. In fact, I have traces of another being's essence in me, which hinder the rehabilitation process to uselessness.

At first, when they told me this, I asked if this necessarily meant I was not a virgin. They insisted that my spirit energy is not wholly my own, a result that can only be established through intercourse.

I was shocked, incredulous, and then suddenly worried. Have I been raped, I wonder aloud.

They laugh. They find my anxiety amusing, but provide no answer.

Unexpectedly, an awful thought struck me. Had I been raped my a man?

Now the monks are rolling on the floor. After they calm down, they assure me that only a woman could change my spirit energy as mine has been changed.

Well, that's both good and bad news.

Apparently, I am not a virgin, although I insist I've never been in a romantic relationship. The monks believe me, and cannot hypothesize as to how my spirit energy is no longer pure. They have no explanation, but they are absolutely positive that 1.) their methods will not work for one who does not have pure spirit energy and 2.) only a female can alter my spirit energy through intercourse.

However, I can't help but to feel relieved and glad that if I did in fact have intercourse (which I know I didn't), it wasn't another male. A small part of me wants to ask Botan if she knew with whom I had intercourse, but that's just foolish. She wouldn't know. She wouldn't tell me what I would want to hear: "Hiei, it was me!"

ooooo

April 24, afternoon

Central Valley, Reikai. Mess hall.

Still sunny

Wait a second.

I'm not a virgin? I'm seriously not a virgin and I didn't even know?

FUCKING HELL, what's going on?

I don't know why it took me hours to realize how badly I've been violated, and I don't even know by whom.

Now that I have no choice but to complete my rehabilitative training by myself, I have a new mission: to find the one who violated me.

ooooo

-

-

-

Please review!  



	11. Chapter 11: Revelations

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains sexual content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Revelations**

-

-

_In the large, lofty bed, Hiei pulled Botan in tight and rolled on top. "There's plenty good that can come out of us mating," he assured her, laying butterfly kisses down her neck and smoothing his warm, warm body on hers, their stomachs flush against each other. _

_Darkness, but there was no need for light in the large bed. _

_Botan suppressed a moan. This isn't right, she told herself. This isn't right! _

_"Hiei," she began, only to be interrupted once more by his lips on her own. Such soft, tender lips, so tender…_

_No, she told herself. This can't go on! She fought the warm body laying on her (so warm!), fought the tender lips (so tender!), fought the ambivalence in her mind – she _knew_ this was not to be, but her body seemed to actually fight against _her_. Her body wanted not to fight. _

_Her traitorous body ground her hips upward, into his hips, quick and deep. A deep masculine whimper danced in her ears, coaxing the hips to repeat, quick and deep. Another whimper, more coaxing, and a vicious carnal cycle formed. Hips ground, pressed, rolled against hips. His whimpers quenched and refueled a carnal need in her. _

_No, she told herself. This can't go on! _

_Her hips bucked upwards again against his, this time not playfully, but aggressively and demanding. She drove her wetness roughly against his hardness. _

_No! This can't go on! _

_Hiei whimpered once more before showing his teeth. "I can't handle it!" he shouted, his teeth headed to the junction between her neck and her shoulder. _

_No! _

_White teeth poured red blood. _

_This isn't right! _

_"Till death do us part," he whispered coyly in her ear. _

ooooo

Koenma sat at his large desk, signing papers he did not read and efficiently sliding each paper from the "in" pile to the "out" pile.

"What's this?" questioned Koenma under his breath. His hand reached out to the "in" pile to grasp another bill, but only scraped bare wood. Looking to his other hand, Koenma saw that he had just finished the last paper of the day.

Koenma blinked – (Last paper of the day? he thought) – and smiled.

Last paper of the day!

In a childish stupor, Koenma leapt out of this chair and gave a hearty shout of victory. He was done, he was done!

A female voice over the intercom cut into his celebration. "Koenma, you have a call on line one. Hiei Jaganshi, from the Central Valleys of Reikai."

Koenma did not hear that it was Hiei who called, he only knew to pick up the phone. Still mentally dancing, he plucked his phone receiver and sang, "This is Koenma!"

"Toddler, I have a problem," said the man on the other line. "Look up my profile."

His gruff voice was a rock slung through the beautiful stained glass that was Koenma's ephemeral happiness. "Hiei?"

"Hn. Get my profile."

"Ah–!" Koenma stuttered. "Hiei, who do you think you are!"

"My profile, toddler…"

"Answer my question!"

"Are you aware only fools answer rhetorical questions?"

Koenma didn't miss a beat. "Of course, I do!"

A menacing laugh from the phone receiver. The godling suddenly realized the error he made and felt his pride slipped away. Damn Hiei! The fire demon is more aggravated than usual, mused Koenma as he reached into his lower drawer containing the very scrupulous profiles of the Reikai Tantei. He pulled out the thickest manila folder.

"Okay, Hiei, what is it you are looking for?"

Koenma narrowed his eyes as he heard the sound of a man whetting a sword.

"I want a name to the next person I will kill next."

ooooo

_Botan stared into the darkness stoically. She discerned neither his tongue lapping at her shoulder, nor his hips rubbing against hers with want. "Till death do us_ _part," he_ _had said. The words echoed in her mind._

_He sensed that she was no longer with him, and reluctantly stopped his ministrations. "Botan," he_ _said. Oh, it felt so good to hear him say her name! "Botan, are you okay?"_

_Till death do us part…_

ooooo

"You want to kill someone!" shrieked Koenma. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"This person has something of mine ­– _stole_ something of mine – which I needed."

"What would that be?"

A pause.

Koenma, no longer nervous, glanced at the receiver questioningly before placing it by his ear again. "Hiei? You there?"

"…Hn."

"What is it that was stolen?"

"Koenma, maybe that's not important…""

The godling's eyes widened, then narrowed. His mouth twisted into a smirk. Koenma prepared himself to turn the tables on his favorite cynical fire demon. "Oh, Hiei, you don't understand. _I_ have the profile, not you. If you don't answer me–"

"My _virginity_ was stolen, okay!"

Koenma's jaw dropped. From the receiver, he heard Hiei muttering expletives. "Hiei, why does this concern me?"

"It doesn't. I just need to know who it is."

"Why don't you already know who it was?"

"That's exactly what I want to know. Apparently, the thief also marked me."

"What? You have a mate, Hiei?"

"_I_ have claimed nobody. I was, however, claimed by someone else. This person marked me and presumably also stole my virginity somehow, and I have no clue pointing me to an identity. I was hoping that your profile would have a list of all sexual partners I had."

Koenma rolled his eyes as he flipped through the many files in the folder. "Listen, Hiei. Sure, these profiles are very detailed, but why would we document something like that? How would we even _find out_ who you've slept with…"

As Koenma's voice faded, his eyes found the subtitle, _Sexual Partners of Hiei Jaganshi_.

"WHAT!"

"Toddler?" On the other side of the line, Hiei tapped the phone receiver. "Toddler, did you find anything?"

Koenma's eyes were wide, his face pale, his jaw slack. Below the subtitle was a single name, a name with which Koenma was very familiar.

ooooo

_He rolled off her body, pulling the heavy covers higher to cover their bare skin. _

_"I hope I didn't do anything wrong," he said softly, with a hint of regret. _

_She blinked and turned her head to look at him. _

_He turned his head to return her stare. _

_Neither of them broke eye contact until he closed his crimson eyes and turned away. _

_"Ahh, Hiei," she pleaded. She slid her hand through the covers and found his softening member. Her fingers wrapped themselves snuggly around his shaft._

_"Please, Botan." He still was turned away. "Maybe this isn't right."_

_No, agreed her mind. This isn't right! _

_"No." She used her other hand to grasp his chin and turn his gaze into hers. The first hand still grasped his member. "This_ is _right."_

ooooo

Hiei's profile was the thickest of all the profiles Koenma kept in his drawer, thicker than even Kurama's, even though Kurama had been living hundreds of years longer than Hiei. Through all the muck and filth in Hiei's profile, this page was the last page that Koenma would have wanted to see.

That name. That sole name under that deplorable subtitle.

ooooo

_In her hand, she felt his member harden and lengthen. She gave it a few slow pumps, her thumb circling like a feather around its head. Instantly, she was rewarded when the member expanded to the point of twitching and throbbing. _

_He smiled as she pulled him on top of her and pushed his mouth onto hers. Their tongues danced. Her hands fluttered down his sides to his waist, slid to the small of his back, and slyly walked down south in perfect symmetry. _

_She would never get enough of his whimpers. _

_Her hands smoothed themselves against his taut backside. Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off…_

_One of his hands crept between their chests and grabbed at one of her breasts, the thumb circling around the pink bud. _

_Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off…_

_His other hand went down to keep her other breast company. With the rhythm of her hands on his rear, his hands massaged her firm breasts. Knead, knead, knead, knead…_

_Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off…_

_Their lips parted momentarily. Cold, fresh breath tickled her nose. _

_Suddenly, she sneezed, squeezing his butt. A moan, and he gave her round breasts an involuntarily tweaks, pressing the pink buds. An approving shout, and she ground her hips hard up against his. _

ooooo

That name had to be a mistake, a misprint. There's no possible explanation as to why that name lay under that subtitle.

"Toddler? Did you find anything?"

Had Koenma paid attention to the receiver still by his ear, he would have noticed Hiei's patience continue to ebb.

"Toddler! TODDLER!"

Koenma suddenly snapped out of his trance. He shook his head, disbelieving. This couldn't be right…

"I'm sorry, Hiei. I didn't find anything in your profile that can help you."

ooooo

His tight rear end felt marvelous underneath her hands. As his pelvis ground against hers in consistent circles, her palms and fingertips felt every muscle and sinew ripple. His luscious, round, hard rear…

Suddenly, in the distance, a phone rang.

Ring, ring… ring, ring…

Ring, ring!

Botan awoke with a start. The phone still ringing, she noticed that in her sleep, she had removed all her clothes, undid her hair, massaged her right breast with one hand, and inserted two fingers into the sticky folds between her thighs with the other hand.

Although she was in her Reikai suite by herself, she still blushed. She removed her hands from her body, wiped them on her bed sheets as if her hands were a disease, and snatched the phone receiver.

"Hello?"

"Botan, this is Koenma."

Botan's face was one of awkwardness. She felt strange speaking to her boss over the phone while naked and aroused. Quickly wrapping herself with her sheets, she said, "Oh hello, Koenma. Aren't you supposed to be doing your paperwork?"

"I finished it already!"

"Really? It's still morning… I didn't even wake up yet!"

"I'm happy about it," said Koenma, and his voice unexpectedly turned grave, "but I'm calling you concerning a pressing matter. An unpleasant revelation. It has to do with Hiei."

Botan dropped the phone receiver. Quickly, she snatched it back to her ear. With poorly veiled urgency, she groaned, "Yes… continue."

Koenma sighed, as if disappointed. "Botan, Hiei will be calling you shortly. He needs to discuss with you his virginity. Or rather, his lack of virginity."

ooooo

-

-

-

Please review!  



	12. Chapter 12: Understandings

Thank you, readers and reviewers! This chapter was also extremely difficult for me. I'm unsure about its quality, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Understandings**

-

-

By the moment Hiei called, Botan had decided that her explanation was very important and should be done in person and not over the phone, although she preferred the distance the phone would place between them. Plucking the receiver, she had barely muttered a salutation to Hiei before she told him the matter called for a face-to-face appointment. Hiei, disinclined to wait further for his answers and secretly wanting to meet with Botan regardless of his situation, acquiesced quickly.

However, they struggled to agree on a meeting location. While during the appointment Botan intended on revealing their life-saving affair (as she phrased her penetrating herself over the unconscious fire demon), Hiei wanted to seize the day and confess his admiration to the ferry girl. Subsequently, Botan argued for a place far from all civilization, so that Hiei's inevitable explosion would result in minimal casualties; meanwhile, Hiei argued for a location which was, in his mind, more romantic to optimize Botan's reaction to his confession of love.

Somehow, they compromised on meeting at a ramen noodle shop in the evening.

"And be sure you're not dressed in your combative garb!" warned Botan. "Reikai Protectors don't take kindly to anything from Makai, especially if it's got swords!"

In a few hours' time, Hiei found himself immersed in the bustle of the largest city square in Central Reikai. He wore a black kimono, upon Botan's request, and was beginning to feel naked without his swords. Hiei kept looking over his shoulder for Reikai Protectors, and was relieved to finally find the ramen shop undetected. When he entered, he saw Botan already seated across from a large, muscular man donning impressive ivy robes.

A Reikai Protector.

Hiei almost turned and left the shop when he heard his name called. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Botan waving, but urgently and furtively motioning for him to join her.

The large man looked at Hiei from the corner of his eye. "Botan, _this_ is your date?"

Though Hiei's insides skipped a beat at the word "date," Botan rolled her eyes. "He's my _appointment_," she said in a restrained tone, "and you're in his seat."

The man scoffed and gave Hiei a condescending smirk. The man stood slowly and gave Hiei a pat on the arm much firmer than necessary. "She's all yours, my boy," he hissed, looking down his nose.

Hiei allowed a small smirk. He estimated he could knock this guy out faster than Kuwabara could recite the alphabet, but did nothing. He stood still as the man left the shop with a twirl of his cloak.

"Hiei, you can take a seat."

A hammer pounding at his sternum, Hiei glanced from the expectant Botan and the cold empty seat in front of him. Glancing at her, he noticed she stared at him, blankly and shamelessly, unnerving him to discomfort.

Then, to Hiei's surprise and delight, she giggled.

Hiei cocked an eyebrow.

Botan shook her head dismissively. "That jerk's been asking for my hand in marriage for two years."

Hiei's features darkened. He averted his gaze and reached for the teapot. "Would you like some tea?" he asked quietly.

The fire demon's sudden etiquette surprised Botan. In spite of herself, she broke into a tiny grin. "That would be nice."

They sat in thick silence for a moment, sipping hot, steaming tea and looking everywhere but at each other. A portly server with eyebrows as thick as his bushy mustache appeared. "Ah, young love!" he exclaimed, smacking Hiei solidly on the back and winking at Botan.

The two flushed and looked down at the table.

The server laughed. "Well, what would you love birds like to order?"

Hiei motioned for Botan to order first. Once more shocked by Hiei's etiquette, Botan pointed to a picture in the menu. "Can I have this? The spicy shrimp?"

Nodding so fast his eyebrows and mustache flapped fervently, the server scribbled her order and looked at Hiei.

Hiei shrugged. "The dragon whisker noodles, please."

The server broke into a large smile, showing large yellowing teeth. "A personal favorite of mine," he said with approval, recording Hiei's order. And with a flop of his eyebrows and a wave, the server left.

Hiei and Botan continued sitting in silence, fidgeting. Once, Hiei's foot brushed softly against Botan's calf, and she jumped and gave a small yelp. Hiei muttered a hasty apology and blushed. Botan noticed the pink in Hiei's face, and could not help but to giggle. At this time, the server returned with their orders. He slapped Hiei heartily on the back again. "You've got her giggling, my boy! Women like a man with a sense of humor!"

He placed two bowls of ramen noodles on the table, and when he left, Hiei and Botan continued saying nothing.

Botan propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms. Studying Hiei, she realized how boyish and vulnerable he looked, shifting awkwardly and running his hand through his hair.

"Hiei, you're not gay, are you?"

Hiei's body froze. He sat still for a moment, contemplating whether or not he heard correctly, and then gaped at Botan.

Botan suddenly found the shrimp in front of her very interesting. She poked them with her chopsticks. "Oh well... you know... I always thought you were a handsome guy, but I never saw you with a girl..." She blushed. Why did she bring this up?

"I'm happily heterosexual," said Hiei bluntly.

Botan looked shocked. "Oh," she began, but then a look of relief overtook her face. "Oh, that's good..."

And once again, they drifted into thick silence.

Finally, Hiei said, "Onna?"

The ferry girl's heart was banging a hammer against her lungs. "Hm?"

Hiei mustered the courage to look Botan in the eye.

"... Never mind..."

And he dropped his gaze once more.

For a moment, Botan thought they would fall into disquieting silence again. Resolute, she decided that she would not waste the progress Hiei made.

"No, please, Hiei..." She put down her chopsticks and gave Hiei her full attention. "What is it?"

Hiei's chopsticks were now in his own fingers. He twirled them idly and shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just being inane."

Unexpectedly, Botan snatched Hiei's chopsticks from his fingers. "Hiei, please tell me," she pleaded, "I really do want to know!"

He suddenly found Botan's eyes too large for him to look into without drowning. "Can I call you 'Botan'? Instead of 'Onna'?" he blurted out, instantly regretting ever opening his mouth.

Botan's expression was blank. Hiei wanted to dig a hole, jump into it, and never leave. Then, Botan broke into a wide grin, relief spelled in her eyes. "I'd really love it if you did."

Hiei still could not look her in the eye, but he felt himself smiling wider than he ever smiled in his life. He then heard a small, pensive voice.

"You have a nice smile, Hiei. I wish you'd do it more often."

Wide-eyed, Hiei gaped as he traced the voice back to Botan's lips. Botan only stared back emptily, her expression dreamy. She suddenly snapped back into reality and clamped her mouth shut with both hands, despaired. She mumbled into her hands something indiscernible. Suddenly noticing again her bowl of noodles, she returned Hiei's chopsticks, retrieved a pair of her own.

"BotanIthinkIaminlovewithyou!"

Her chopsticks had noodles looped around themselves and were halfway up to her mouth before she paused. The air went cold and still. The chopsticks slipped back into the noodle bowl. In a meek voice, "Can you say that again?"

Hiei groaned. He grabbed fistfuls of his hair and pulled hard, deplore the day he was born. Indiscernible curses leaked from his gritted teeth. Squeezing his eyes shut tight, he shook his head so hard that Botan felt a cool breeze from his fanning hair.

Botan, however, noticed no breeze, only the agonized state of Hiei and the pounding in her chest. "Please, Hiei..." She leaned forward, and lowered her voice. "Can you say that again?"

Hiei decides Botan is deliberately torturing him. "I... Botan, I think I..."

And he trailed off, only whispering the last part

And pink orbs searched Hiei, is if all to be a joke. And pleading once more, her voice dry, "Say that again?"

And he squirmed like an insignificant insect under a child's merciless magnifying glass. "I'm possibly in love with you," he finally grinded out.

But Hiei did not notice anything but himself drowning in his own embarrassment. He pulled a fat wad of colorful Reikai paper currency from his pocket, slapped it on the table, and made to stand up. "Maybe I should go –"

"No, don't!" Botan's hands flung forward and caught his wrist. "Are you sure?"

Hiei looked down at her searching face. "I only dream of sharing my life with you every night, that's all... I don't even know what's wrong with me." He gave a tug against Botan's unyielding fingers. "If you'll excuse me," he said gravely, "I'm about to go jump off a bridge, climb out of whatever I fall in, and jump off the bridge again."

"I don't think I love you, Hiei, but I definitely like you a lot! And I dream about you every night, too!"

Relief flooded Hiei's features. Grinning, he sat down and vaguely registered Botan releasing his wrist. "You dream about me?"

Botan nodded. "Every single night."

"What do you dream about us?"

The grin on Botan's face fell, and she blushed to the roots of her hair.

Hiei arched an eyebrow.

Botan twiddled her thumbs idly. "Well, the thing is... do you really want to know?"

Hiei grinned slyly; he liked where this was going. "If I tell you what exactly I dream about, would you tell me what you exactly dream about?"

Before Botan could answer, Hiei said, "I sometimes dream of an apartment in a high-rise of Central Reikai, and we have two small children, and older daughter and a younger son. Our daughter rides around the house on a small oar and pretends to ferry souls from her bedroom to the kitchen. Our son is actually quite annoying –" At this, Botan giggled. "– and he always runs after his sister."

To Botan's surprise, Hiei's face flushed a healthy shade of red. "I dream of that sometimes. Other times, I dream... that we're... um... procreating offspring..."

Botan's face now matched Hiei's, except she was wearing a broad smile. "You have no idea, Hiei... you are the star of my craziest, hottest, sweatiest dreams! All of my dreams!" she exclaimed, and then said under her breath, "Oh, I have so many of them I want to reenact..."

Hiei's eyes widened, and then they both shared an awkward laugh. "You know," said Hiei shyly, thinking of the morning he woke up naked in Botan's bed, and saw her equally naked, "I think you have... a very nice body."

Botan's teeth glistened as she winked coyly at Hiei. "Right back at you, sexy!"

"Really? I always thought you'd think I'd be too skinny... compared to that other guy, the bastard who wants to marry you..."

"_Him_?" She giggled. "You're ten times a beast compared to _him_! _You_ are the one in my dreams, not _him_."

Hiei wore his scarcely-practiced grin. He then noticed his dragon whisker noodles for the first time, and began eating. Botan happily followed suit, tasting hers for the first time. Suddenly, she coughed out a mouthful of noodles, downed the rest of her tea, and fanned her tongue. "It's hot," she said weakly.

The eyebrows-and-mustache server appeared out of nowhere and smacked Botan on the back jovially. "That's why it's called 'spicy shrimp'!" he laughed, and he disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

They blinked, and continued eating, silently agreeing to ignore the server. Both were finally glad to be comfortable in each others company, and for the first time, they were conversing freely, revealing secrets, and sharing laughs. The only one shocked more than Botan to hear Hiei talk so much was perhaps Hiei himself, and Botan was honored that it was she, the weak and feeble-minded ferry "onna," of all people, who was loved by him. Some time during their casual discourse, Botan's feet found Hiei's under the table and they linked themselves together. She laughed and gaped in awe at Hiei's tale of how he went from not noticing her, to being attracted to her, to liking her, to loving her.

"... and I thought that for me to stand a chance," said Hiei, "I'd have to be as big and muscular as the Reikai Protectors!"

Botan laughed, causing Hiei to smile; he liked the sound of her laugh, but liked it more when he was the one causing her to laugh.

"They may be big and buff, Hiei, but none of them are a match for you!"

They each slurped more noodles.

"Oh!" gasped Botan. "I almost forgot: I need to tell you something! It's the reason why we're here in the first place!"

Hiei looked up, scooping last bits of his dragon whisker noodles into his mouth. Quite frankly, he neither remembered nor cared what their original purpose was, and was perfectly satisfied with what they were doing presently.

"I never thought saying this would be nearly this easy," Botan mused. She sat a bit straighter and smiled wide. "You remember the night you fell under severe spiritual strain?"

Hiei nodded, his mouth bulging slightly, not chewing but paying attention.

Botan continued, "Well, you're sitting in front of me today, alive, and not a fatal victim of severe spiritual strain, because I saved your life the following morning. We had sex in my bed!"

Hiei nodded again, and shoveled even more noodles into his mouth, his cheeks bulging even more, until Botan's words hit him.

Botan was the one who had sex with him? _Botan_?

The oversized quantity of noodles slid down Hiei's throat, and he started coughing violently. The noodles were expelled through his nostrils, dangling from his nose, waving frantically as he continued to cough.

Again, the server suddenly appeared. He slapped Hiei on the back once more, laughing loudly. "That's why they're called 'dragon whiskers'!" he said, and quickly disappeared.

Unable to contain her laughter, Botan leaned across the table to help Hiei remove his noodle whiskers. While Hiei coughed up the last bits of noodles, she sighed wistfully at the memory of the night and morning they spent together.

Finally, Hiei stopped coughing. He poured himself more tea and downed it instantly. Eyes wide, he said, "We had sex? That's why the monk's methods were ineffectual!" Hiei paused, thought to himself, then blushed. "We had sex..." he repeated to himself. "I... I kind of... I wish I were awake then..."

Botan smiled so widely that her teeth sparkled. Hiei wished he were awake when they had sex! Did that mean he wanted her even a fraction as badly as she wanted him? Looking at how his face glowed brighter by the moment, Botan was glad to see that he was at least half as happy as she was about the affair.

"Did you know, Hiei, that sex was the cure for severe spiritual strain?" asked Botan. Her perverted side was showing, and she quickly became comfortable talking about sex with her unknowing lover and object of lustful desire. "To save you, I had to have three orgasms with you inside of me, because coming transfers spirit energy when a man penetrates a woman."

Hiei listened soundlessly, but his face lost some of its glow; he was still delighted that it was Botan who took his virginity, but was disappointed to hear it was for medical purposes.

"So I went at it until I came three times," continued Botan, her expression gaining every bit of brightness that Hiei's lost, "and I was about to stop, until I decided that you needed to come, too!"

At this information, Hiei broke into a grin and blushed shamelessly. So, Botan indeed found incentive to sleep with him beyond medical purposes. His chest swelled with satisfaction, but he had a question.

"Um... Botan?" Hiei played with his chopsticks again. He wanted badly to ask Botan out, but lacked the appropriate words to do so. "Will you..."

Botan waited patiently.

Hiei grimaced, still playing with words in his head.

"Hiei," said Botan, "do you want to do this again some time?"

Hiei's face was blank. "You mean, like... a date?" he asked hopefully.

Botan smiled weakly. "There's also something else I should tell you," she said softly. She reached to the side of Hiei's neck and traced her fingers over the light teeth marks she left there. "I was the one who left those marks. I did it by accident, I swear! But I guess... we're mates? If you're my mate, you might as well be my boyfriend, too..."

A grimace on her face, Botan braced herself for Hiei's reaction.

Hiei was still expressionless, thinking over what Botan had just disclosed. Then he smiled.

"Botan?"

"Yes, Hiei?" said Botan with a smile to match Hiei's.

"Are you done with your meal?"

She glanced down at her noodle bowl. "Yeah, I ate enough."

"Good." Hiei slapped the fat wad of Reikai paper currency on the table and stood. "Do you want to do something else?"

Botan grinned impishly. "I _do_ want to do something else, actually. How about we make a stop at my bedroom?"

ooooo

-

-

-

Please review!  



	13. Chapter 13: Closures

This is it, the final chapter! I've deleted my note and have summarized my points here: 1.) If you disagreed with my review policy, I won't read your self-indulgent flame if you're only spewing crap about reviews. I courteously ask that you flame constructively, as R.S. did, because that helps me as a writer. 2.) I did a horrible, horrible job keeping my story consistent. I've wrongly prescribed Hiei with an overdose of OOC-ness. I'm so sorry! 3.) My story was on hold for about a year I think, but my first year of college has recently ended and I'm here to finish this story!

Another note on reviews: Unlike what a certain idiot think (coughcough**EMERALDMIST**coughcough), constructive flaming is very possible (roll eyes). It's called "constructive criticism," maybe you've heard of it, hm Emerald? Some people, i.e. Emeral Mist, don't realize that being told why you suck is an excellent way to get better. Therefore, these craven, irritating, mentally-lacking children will remain inadequate writers who have courage enough only to submit negative reviews anonymously.

-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

!Warning!: This chapter contains explicit sexual content especially not suited for anyone immature.

-

There is some serious smut in this chapter. Seriously. So please don't tell me that I didn't warn you. Be ready for it.

-

-

-

**Icha Icha**

by McGrady

-

-

-

**Closures**

-

-

Hiei apprehensively sat behind Botan on her flying oar. They sped over the crowded streets of Central Reikai, his arms wrapped securely around her waist. In due time, they landed roughly by the door of Botan's residence. Hiei's breath ran short with anticipation as Botan fumbled with the door and led Hiei in by the hand. He gave her hand a squeeze as she steered him into her bedroom. In a flash, he felt her fling his hand out of hers, slam the door shut, and throw his body against the closed door. She kicked his legs apart so that he was standing a few inches lower, so he was looking at Botan's eyes directly.

In her eyes, Hiei saw a hungry, mischievous, almost feral gleam. Her tousled hair had partially fallen from her characteristic ponytail. Her small mouth twisted itself into a coy but confident smirk, one that told Hiei that, for the first time in his life, he was not in charge. The prospect of being subject to Botan's will sent shudders up his spine, and before he knew it, she had mashed her lips onto his.

Hiei's eyes went wide at Botan's assertiveness. She sucked and nibbled at his lips as her hands worked on Hiei's robes. The slither of his robes slipping off his shoulders and between his back and the door was followed by the robes' thud on the floor. Hiei's eyes slowly shut as Botan's hands gruffly fisted his hair and her hips rubbed forcefully against his. Her distracting hands and her demanding hips overwhelmed his senses to the point of falling into hypnosis.

"… Mmm…"

Botan's moan woke Hiei from his short trance. He found that while his lips reciprocated, his hands had disentangled her hair from its ponytail and were gripping at her slender waste. His hips began following the beat set by hers. One of her hands left his hair, floated down his back, and began suddenly squeezed his butt.

Hiei withdrew his lips and gasped.

Giggling quietly, Botan kissed the corner of his mouth. "I never told you," she said slyly, "but I'm a huge fan of your ass."

As Botan said the last word, she ground her hips especially vigorously against Hiei's hardening member underneath his pants and squeezed both firm cheeks hard with both hands. He shuddered again, recaptured her lips, and dropped his hands to her gyrating backside, pinching and teasing her bottom as she did the same to his.

Botan's mouth began moving south, leaving a feathery trail from Hiei's mouth down to the bite mark she left on the junction of his neck and shoulder. She planted a wet kiss before asking, "Hiei, what kind of underwear are you wearing?"

Again, Hiei was shaken from his trance. "Mm?"

And in a flash, Botan had ripped Hiei's shirt over his head and thrown his pants downward. She took a step back to take in the sight of Hiei: his legs were still spread, his pants had bunched together at his knees, and he was wearing nothing but his underwear and socks. She also noted that Hiei was wearing a different type of underwear from the boxers she had expected. "Boxer briefs," she said approvingly, biting her lower lip eagerly. "White. Very tight," said Botan predatorily, slowly rubbed her hands around his bulge. "Very sexy, Hiei…"

Hiei simply turned red – Botan's aggressiveness had rendered him speechless still. She made him shiver when she pulled on the underwear's taught waistline and let it snap against his bare stomach.

"Oh, no," said Botan seductively as she held the head of Hiei's straining member in his boxer briefs, "it looks like Hiei Junior wants some freedom."

Hiei grunted as Botan slowly played with 'Hiei Junior' like a joystick.

After teasing Hiei's trapped manhood and enjoying his moans and flustered expression, Botan closed the gaps between their bodies and their lips. She grabbed for his butt again as he played with her hair. Her hips resumed rolling against his, grinding to maximize friction between his stiffness and her hungry pelvis. She felt his hands run themselves up and down her sides.

Botan's hands dipped underneath Hiei's waistline and grabbed his bare butt. She gave him a quirky grin. "Stand up straight for me."

Hiei was beginning to enjoy the more dominant Botan; he obeyed instantly.

In one swooping motion, Botan grabbed the underwear's waistline and pulled it, along with Hiei's pants, fully to the ground. "Bed," she said curtly to Hiei, pointing to her fluffy pillows and thick covers.

Hiei quickly, almost fearfully, slipped out from between Botan and the door and scampered onto the bed, Botan right behind him. She pulled Hiei so that he lay on the bed on his back, his head on the pillow. She then adjusted herself so that she was kneeling between his legs at the foot of the bed, facing Hiei, with his erect manhood between them.

Botan again placed her hands softly on the insides of Hiei's thighs, mere inches away from his member. The unfamiliar sense of vulnerability made Hiei sweat and shudder with heightened anticipation.

"Look at me, Hiei."

Hiei peered into Botan's confident eyes.

Botan stooped over Hiei's hips, still maintaining eye contact, and licked her lips.

Involuntarily, Hiei yelped; he had never been so nervous before, never even during the most lethal duels.

Botan smiled again, in a way that made Hiei both more afraid and more aroused. "I'm enjoying this, Hiei," she said as she lowered even closer to his member but still held his gaze. "Aren't you?"

"Eh…" was all the shaking Hiei could muster. "Eh – mm…"

Botan smiled, licked her lips again, and blew a soft, cool gust over Hiei's throbbing member.

Hiei yelped again. And suddenly, he felt one of her warm hands push his member flat along his stomach and her other hand hold his tightened sack delicately. He moaned and curled his toes as she planted wet kisses up and down the exposed underside of his shaft.

To Botan, Hiei's pleading cries were harmonious. She smiled at the way he squirmed uncontrollably when she ran her tongue up his member's sensitive underside, starting from the base and sliding to the very tip. She enjoyed his cries even more when she gripped his member firmly with both hands and ran them smoothly up and down, all the while sucking on the tender head and teasing the very tip with her tongue.

"Ah! Ah! Ah, ah, ah, Botan! Ohhh, Botan!"

The submissive way in which Hiei moaned her name was similar to begging for mercy. Botan lifted her face from his member but maintained her firm grip on it with both hands. "I can feel your heart racing," she said, indicating the pulsing head of his shaft.

Hiei was again lost for words. When Botan again ran her hands up and down his shaft and placed her mouth over his manhood's head and her tongue around the tip, he began to hyperventilate. "Ohhh… Botan…"

"Hm?" said Botan. "You want me to go faster?" And she began pumping his member twice as quickly.

Hiei seethed when Botan sucked even harder and ran her tongue in circles around the tip. "Botan! I'm about to –"

Unexpectedly, Botan released Hiei's member and sat upright. They both watched as his member's glowing blush and steady twitching subsided slightly. They waited, catching their breaths.

Botan crawled next to Hiei and lay on her back next to him. "I think," she said between breaths, turning her head to face him, "it's your turn. I want you to dominate me now."

Hiei turned his head to gaze at Botan. "Dominate you?"

Botan nodded. "As much as I enjoy having control over you," (Here, Hiei's eye twitched and Botan grinned knowingly) "I want to see you take control of me, too! After all, I still have all my clothes on…"

She was right; while Hiei wore only his bandana and his socks, Botan was still wearing her traditional kimono.

"You want me to dominate you?" asked Hiei, searching for verification.

"Yup," said Botan. "Unless you enjoy me wearing the pants during our sex, because I rather enjoy that also…"

Here, Hiei regained his natural instincts of speed and force. In barely more than a blink of an eye, Hiei had released a long bandage from his arm and gently tied one end around Botan's wrists, the other end around the bedpost.

Hiei gave the started Botan a quick kiss on the lips before lowering his mouth by her ear. "I like it when you wear the pants," he said quietly, wolfishly, almost dangerously. "But I like control myself."

Botan simply giggled and gave his nose a playful lick.

Undoing her kimono's sash, Hiei planted deep kisses over Botan's neck and throat. He opened her kimono to reveal a smooth stomach and simple white lingerie. He sat up to enjoy the view of the helpless blushing girl at his mercy.

"I never really knew how full your chest was," said Hiei, giving them a gentle squeeze. "And your underwear…"

Her panties were soaked with her body's hot juices. As Hiei traced lazy patterns over her still-clothed womanhood, Botan moaned and arched her back, her legs shooting open to accept him. He then climbed back over her body and, with his teeth, lifted her bra upwards to reveal her soft, round breasts. Without hesitation, his hands each grabbed one and kneaded. He sucked one nipple, teasing with his tongue and teeth, then sucked the other, each nibble and lick earning him a groan of satisfaction from Botan.

Hiei lifted his gaze to meet Botan's. He rolled her erect nipples between his thumbs and fingers. "They're so hard," he said with a slight grin.

Botan cocked an eyebrow challengingly. "Why don't you give them a pinch?"

Hiei complied, sending Botan into another fit of shudders, filling the room with her cries.

"Again!" she demanded, her eyes shut tight with ecstasy.

Once more, Hiei complied to be rewarded with Botan squirming energetically beneath him.

"Again! … Again! … Again! … Do it again!"

Hiei's continued obedience eventually resulted in a panting Botan.

"Now," she said, heaving, "take off my underwear. Good! Now throw it on the ground and touch me!"

Hiei faced Botan's bare, moist womanhood. He took in a deep breath and plunged in face first, attacking with his tongue and fingers. Botan yelled, straining against the bandage, bucking her hips upward to force him deeper. She shut her legs around his head, keeping it in place directly over her wetness.

"Lick it, Hiei, lick it! Ohhhhhh!"

Hiei sucked on her exposed bud while pumping his fingers into her depths.

"Hiei! Oh, Hiei! Get inside me!"

All of a sudden, Hiei felt his head being released by Botan's thighs and hands but also hoisted upwards.

"Stick it in!"

Biting his lower lip, Hiei positioned his hardness over his wetness. He ran his tip up and down over her moist opening, drawing circles around her bud.

"Oh stop teasing me! I want you!"

In one dive, Hiei buried his erection to the hilt. They both groaned and shuddered. Botan's suffocating tightness and blazing warmth were driving Hiei crazy; he resumed hyperventilating. Botan on the other hand shifted her pelvis around, enjoying the fulfillment that his length brought her when it was inside her.

With his weight on his elbows and knees, Hiei began pumping in and out slowly while massaging her breasts. Moaning, Botan fought the bandage and wrapped her legs tightly around Hiei's bare back.

"Faster, Hiei!"

He obeyed, pinching her nipples in the process.

"Ah… Ah… Ah… Ah… Faster!"

He paused for a moment to hoist her legs against his chest, creating better leverage. Giving her breasts another squeeze, he pumped as quickly as he could.

Hiei's blurring penetrating speed and his skillful hands drove Botan into a state of pure bliss. She moaned shamelessly, not bothering to keep her voice down. An electric storm grew in her hot depths, and as the storm grew, so did the volume of her moans. The storm soon grew unbearable, and Botan felt that her wetness was about to explode with overloaded juices.

"Ah! Hiei!"

Botan unexpectedly shook, almost pushing Hiei out. Her eyes were shut, her teeth clenched.

Breathing, Hiei asked, "Botan, what's wrong?"

Without warning, a thick stream of wetness squirted from Botan's loins, soaking Hiei's hardened member, his upper thighs, and his lower stomach.

Hiei blinked, unsure as to what exactly happened. He watched Botan squirm a bit more, squirting a bit more on his manhood.

Botan's eyes lazily opened. "Keep going… keep going!"

With renewed vigor, Hiei repositioned his now dripping member over Botan's begging opening and her legs on his chest and shoulders. He began pumping even more quickly and forcefully. Botan moaned more hungrily.

It was Hiei now who felt an electric storm brewing in his loins. The fiery tingling sensation made him pinch Botan's nipples a bit harder than he normally did.

"Botan…" said Hiei between gritted teeth. "I'm about… I'm about to…"

"Oh, do it!" exclaimed Botan. "Oh, give it to me, baby, give it to me!"

Hiei grunted; he fired off countless, thick streams of steaming hot fluids into Botan's tight womanhood. Botan groaned as she felt his warm seed fill her up, with extra streams expelling excess fluids out of her wetness and onto the bed.

They both paused a moment, allowing themselves to catch their breaths. Hiei had retracted himself halfway when Botan interrupted, "Leave it in there, please?"

Hiei gave a small grin. "Okay…"

She resumed grabbing Hiei's bottom. "You know, I really love playing with your butt like this," she said. With Hiei still inside her, Botan then rolled themselves over so that she was on top. She sat upright, placing her hands on his chest. "However, I prefer to be on top!"

Hiei grinned; although he said nothing, he secretly preferred her on top as well.

Botan's hips slowly churned and rotated around his still-hardened member. "Want to try for another go?" she asked.

Hiei merely moaned, shut his eyes, and grabbed her grinding bottom with both hands.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" said Botan happily.

After Botan had climaxed twice more and Hiei once more, they finally stopped, laying side-by-side on the bed.

"Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"… That was incredible…"

"… Hn…"

"… You want to do that again? Maybe some time soon?"

"Hn!"

"Excellent! It's settled!"

"Hn…"

"… Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"We made a mess! Look at my bed sheets! They're soaked! And they kind of smell like salmon or something…"

"… Hn."

"… Hiei?"

"… Hn?"

"Want to take a bath with me? We must be filthy."

"Hn!"

ooooo

"Koenma, do you think I can take off the month of July?"

"The entire month? Really? Why?"

"I'm getting married."

"Really? Wow! Good for you! Who's the lucky groom?"

"Hiei!"

"WHAT?"

Four years after that lustful night in her suite with Hiei, Botan stood in Koenma's office in front of his desk. Behind the desk, Koenma gaped at Botan with wide eyes and an open mouth. He sputtered unintelligibly, mixing his papers without purpose. When he finally composed himself, his eyes told stories of shock.

"Are you serious? Hiei?"

Botan frowned, not appreciating Koenma's unfavorable reaction. "Yes. I am. He already marked me, I already marked him, and now we're marrying properly. See?"

When he saw the distinct teeth marks on the junction of Botan's neck and shoulder to which she pointed, Koenma sighed. Here she was, Botan, a deity of Reikai, marrying a demon.

"You know, most deities end up with Reikai Protectors," said Koenma. "The Protectors are respectable, upper-class, noble citizens of our world! Don't get me wrong about Hiei, but do you realize what you're doing?"

Botan's nostrils flared as she stomped her little feet. "I'm tired of this 'Reikai Protector' crap! Hiei has done more, much more, for all worlds than the stupid Reikai Protectors! So what if he's a demon? We're not incompatible! We still love each other! There have been successful families of both deities and demons in the past! You know that Hiei could kick the ass of any Reikai Protector out there!"

"Yikes, Botan, calm down!" said Koenma, raising his hands defensively.

"I WILL NOT!" yelled Botan. "Hiei and I have been engaged for two years! We've been living together for four years! Are you saying that the Reikai Protectors are better than Hiei?"

Koenma's tongue caught itself in his throat. "No ­– of course not – I would never say that! Hiei has served me well!"

"Then what exactly is your problem?"

Koenma inhaled deeply. Collecting himself, he folded his hands together on his desk. "It's just unexpected. A deity and a demon…"

"That's no excuse for us not to wed! If you cut me, if you cut Hiei, we both bleed red! Our children will bleed red, too!"

"But – !" Koenma paused and deflated. "Okay. I understand."

Botan remained silent, arms crossed tersely over her chest.

"Botan, I permit you to take leave for the entire month of July for this year."

Finally, Botan smiled a bit. "Thank you, Koenma-sama."

"You're welcome," said Koenma before suddenly grinning. "I hope I'm invited."

Botan gave Koenma a bow and made her way to the door.

"Of course you are!"

She stepped outside of Koenma's office and shut the door. After running a few minor errands, she hopped onto her oar and returned to her suite. At home, she was greeted by the sight of Hiei preparing dinner for the two of them.

"Ahhh, thank you, Hiei!" said Botan, taking a seat at the table. "I could get used to this!"

Hiei grunted, inwardly embarrassed that he enjoyed cooking. He blushed as he felt Botan innocently eyeing him in her apron.

"How did Koenma take it?" asked Hiei.

"Eh… it was okay," said Botan, "but he did end up giving me July off."

Hiei gave Botan a smile, the smile that only Botan sees. She smiled in return and rose from the chair to plant a passionate kiss on his lips.

I can't believe I used to think this man was gay, thought Botan as the two of them headed to the bedroom, dinner forgotten.

ooooo

-

-

-

Please review, and thanks for everyone who stuck with me from the beginning to the end! This is my last Yu Yu Hakusho fic, so it was nice to work with you guys. If you're familiar with the Prince of Tennis, Naruto, and Harry Potter (who isn't familiar with Harry Potter...), then please keep your eyes peeled for more stories by me in those categories.


End file.
